


If Your Heart Wears Thin, I Will Hold You Up

by En_Kelleher



Category: Spartacus Series (TV), Spartacus: Vengeance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-21
Updated: 2012-08-08
Packaged: 2017-11-10 10:52:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/465458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/En_Kelleher/pseuds/En_Kelleher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagron modern setting.  Trials and Tribulations of finding your soul mate and making things work!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Perfect Disaster

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Nagon fic! I love the Modern Setting fics, and I couldn't help but set mine in such a way.

“Nasir! We’re going to be late!” Mira voiced her concern of tardiness as she and Naevia stood at the doorway to Nasir’s bedroom.  
“Give me a second!” Nasir called to the ladies as he tucked his cell phone against his collarbone to muffle the sounds of the girls in his room. “I’m just saying bye to Julian,” he added, explaining why he was taking so long to get up from his bed and join the ladies for the party the girls’ friend, Spartacus, was throwing.  
Nasir ignored the huffy sighs from the door as he angled his body a little bit away from the girls and lifted his phone back to his ear. “I’m sorry, baby, I have to go. Mira and Naevia are whining that we’ll be late. I’ll call you later, okay? Alright, bye.”  
Nasir closed his phone and ignored how the girls’ eyebrows arched up as he did not say those famous three words to his boyfriend of two years. He slid his phone in to his back pocket as he stood up and walked over to the girls, offering them a tiny, shy smile. “You were whining about being late, stop standing around.” He told them warranting a small giggle from Mira.  
+++  
The party at Spartacus’ penthouse was larger than Nasir would have expected. There was close to a hundred people mingling through the area, all dressed in different fashions. Some chose the higher end designs, meant for clubs or run ways, while others had decided that going casual with faded jeans, converses, and band t-shirts was the way to go.  
From what Nasir could gather, this Spartacus fellow wasn’t usually the type to indulge in boisterous parties and loud music, drinks flowing freely in to glasses and causing the party guests to succumb to rather intense bouts of drunkenness. He seemed like an uptight asshole from what Nasir could observe from afar. Spartacus was holding on to a bottle of high end sparkling water as opposed to a bottle of beer or a mixed drink of some sort. The guys standing around him were laughing loudly, but Spartacus just gave small chuckles here and there as he absently scanned the people in the room with watchful eyes.  
It seemed to Nasir that Spartacus was actually forced in to this party by his friends, not necessarily in want of being surrounded by people he did not know. It was more like Spartacus was doing this merely to appease his friends in their want to have a get together, rather than his own need for it; maybe his first impression of the man wasn’t really what Nasir should go off of, considering he just saw the guy and got the guttural reaction that Spartacus wasn’t entirely the ‘let’s be friends’ type of guy.  
But, Nasir’s lack of motivation to walk across the room to greet the host of the party did not stop Mira and Naevia from pulling him along with them as they gathered drinks and made their way over to Spartacus and his surrounding friends. Friends who seemed to be of the close circle variety. Nasir couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward as he stood a little bit behind Naevia and Mira as they greeted the guys standing in a semi circle.  
Mira turned to introduce Nasir as Naevia moved through the circle of guys to slide her arms around a bulky guy with dark hair and eyes. “Nasir, this is Spartacus, Crixus, you know Naevia, then there’s Oenomaus, and Gannicus.” Mira introduced; Nasir moved to shake hands with all of the men that Mira introduced him to, a small smile on his face.  
“Nice to meet you all,” Nasir said with a small nod.  
“Hey, Spartacus,” Mira said, giving him her prettiest smile, “Where’s Agron?” She asked, glancing around the party pointedly. Nasir felt like, perhaps, he was missing some joke, but his thoughts were interrupted when Crixus spoke.  
“Who cares where that fucking German is,” he spoke with a raspy and slightly breathy voice that made Nasir almost physically rub at his own throat.  
“Crixus, behave,” Naevia muttered against her lover’s ear, giving everyone an apologetic smile when she looked back at them.  
“Seriously, Crixus, why do you always have to bash Agron?” Gannicus spoke up, his eyebrows arching in a faintly cocky manner. “You and Agron may always be at odds with each other, but the guy’s always got our back despite everything in the ring, cheering us all on, including you.”  
“In the ring?” Nasir asked, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion as he looked between the guys in the circle. He could tell that they were all well toned and fit underneath their clothing, but he hadn’t thought much of it beforehand.  
“Fighting,” Oenomaus answered Nasir’s question with a patient voice. “We all fight in MMA tournaments.”  
“Oh, mixed martial arts,” Nasir nodded, having seen Julian watch such events on the television. Nasir wasn’t entirely in to that sort of brutal sport, or sports in general, but he would tolerate them when Julian wanted to watch it on t.v. He just didn’t see the point in carnally beating the shit out of each other for sport; but everyone had their own opinions.  
“There’s just something about the guy that rubs me the wrong way,” Crixus shrugged, not at all bothered by his friends nagging him about his apparent beef with this Agron guy. He looked over and down at Nasir, offering him a very faint smile, “all I’m saying is that he’s hot tempered, egotistical at his best, and reckless. You’d just do yourself a favor by being cautious.”  
Nasir wasn’t too sure why Crixus was warning him about Agron, seeing as he didn’t know Nasir in the least bit. He assumed it might be that Naevia was one of his best friends, so therefore he was in some way protecting her; but Nasir just gave him a curt little nod and excused himself to go refill his drink, despite the fact that his drink was not empty.  
As Nasir reached the refreshments table, he felt his phone buzzing in his back pocket. Pulling it from his pocket, Nasir made a mad dash for the front door in order to get a little peace and quiet for his phone call. He knew it was Julian checking up on him, which was unnecessary but Julian did it anyway. However, as he was about to reach for the door to step out in to the small lobby outside the elevator, the door opened and Nasir found himself hitting the floor with an unceremonious ‘oomph’.  
“Ohshit!” Came a startled voice, deep and wonderful sounding in Nasir’s ears. He lifted his head to see the owner of the voice leaning over him with wide green eyes and a concerned expression etched in to his devastatingly handsome features. “I am so so so sorry, man, I didn’t know you were there!”  
Nasir shook his head, letting out vain attempts to stop the man from helping him up off of the floor. “It’s okay, really, I’m fine. No damage done.” He assured the guy, who was exceptionally tall compared to Nasir’s average 5’8’’.  
“Dammit, I’m so sorry,” the guy continued, seemingly floundering a bit as he assessed the damage he had done to Nasir. A blonde woman with long wavy hair stepped out from behind the guy (on legs to die for, too), a small laugh curving her lips up as she shook her head at her friend.  
“He’s always knocking people over, it seems. But at least this time the one he knocked over is handsome.” She murmured, actually sparking a flush from the tall, broad shouldered guy’s cheeks.  
“Saxa! Shuddup!” He shoved her away from him in a slightly playful manner before he turned his intensely green eyes back to Nasir, who could only stand and stare at the two of them. Both of them were gorgeous in their own rights, and Nasir was sure that they had to be together, right? So lusting after this guy (while he had a boyfriend of his own) wasn’t a good idea, right?  
“I’m sorry about her, she likes to tease me every chance she gets,” the man added as he turned back to Nasir, looking down at him with furrowed eyebrows. “I’m Agron, and I’m terribly sorry for plowing right in to you.”  
This was Agron? The Agron that Crixus was just bashing not five minutes ago? This was the hot tempered, egotistical, reckless man that Crixus had it out for? Surely he was mistaken. How could someone so strikingly beautiful and sincere be the man that Crixus warned him about?  
“I’m Nasir, and you can plow in to me any time you want.” The words let Nasir’s lips before he could stop them. His dark eyes widened a fraction as he felt his cheeks immediately heat with a flush. Seriously? Had that seriously just happened? Fuck the gods.  
“Really-?”  
“I’m sorry,” Nasir quickly cut Agron off, “I mean- Gods, I can’t believe that just fucking happened.” He sucked in a sharp breath, turning on his heel and shaking his head. “I’m going to go jump of the roof now.”  
Nasir headed through the people, quickly making his way towards the other end of the room where the doors lead to the roof. It seemed a bit dangerous to be on the roof this high up, but Nasir would be thankful for the chill once he reached the cool night air. He pushed the door open and stepped outside on to the roof. Tentatively taking a few steps closer, he rested his hands on the low stone barrier around the roof top and bowed his head as the night breeze ruffled his hair. It used to be down past his shoulders, but Julian had preferred it short, so now it was shaggy and curly around his ears and jaw line.  
Nasir sucked in a gust of the night air and felt the chill in his lungs. Such a fucking idiot, he mentally cursed himself, shaking his head a bit as his fingers gripped at the barrier tighter, or at least the best that he could. All he could think about was how much of an idiot he just made of himself in front of that gorgeous man (whether he was straight or not didn’t entirely matter). His missed phone call was the last thing on his mind.  
Nasir jolted a bit when he felt an elbow brush against his bicep in a small nudge. He whirled around with wide eyes, suddenly glad he was holding on to the barrier so that he didn’t topple over and plummet to the ground below.  
“Sorry!” Agron held up his hands in mock surrender, complete with a bottle of beer in each. “I didn’t mean to startle you, I just thought, maybe, you’d, uh, need a drink or something.” He offered one of the beers, keeping his green eyes on Nasir.  
“I-uh-thanks.” Nasir buckled, reaching out to take the beer from Agron. He was careful not to let his fingers brush Agron’s, even with how much he wanted them to. After taking the beer from him, Nasir lifted it to his lips and tilted his head back, taking several large gulps of the beer without even tasting it.  
“Woah, easy there, tiger.” Agron muttered, but sounded a bit impressed. “Wouldn’t want you falling off the rooftop, would we?”  
“I think you’d knock me over it before I fell,” Nasir murmured, lowering the beer bottle just a little bit to speak. He immediately felt like an asshole and shook his head, “Sorry, I.. I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t your fault you knocked me over back there.”  
Nasir leaned his back against the barrier, taking a seat on top of the smooth surface and lifting his beer up to his lips again and taking another, more tempered, sip from the bottle. He let out a breath and felt his phone buzzing in his pocket again. He didn’t have to look at the screen to know that it was Julian calling him again. When he pulled the phone from his pocket, he let out a sigh as he stared at the screen.  
“Do you need to take that?” Agron asked, leaning lazily against the barrier as well, his palms against the smooth stone as he glanced over at Nasir. The siding came up to about Agron’s hips, so while Nasir was sitting on it, his feet didn’t touch the roof top.  
“Uh…. No.” Nasir shook his head, sliding his phone back in to his pocket. “It’s okay.”  
“You sure? I don’t want to keep you from some important call or anything.”  
“Nah, it’s all good,” Nasir shook his head and looked over at Agron, offering him a small smile, “I think maybe this conversation might be a bit more riveting, anyway.” Something about this man was just beckoning Nasir’s attention, full throttle. He didn’t want to risk losing the conversation by answering his phone to an undoubtedly peeved Julian.  
+++  
Getting home after Spartacus’ party, Nasir moved a bit drunkenly through his apartment. When he made it to his bedroom, he fell on to the bed still fully clothed; and he almost fell right off of the bed when he felt something under him as he landed. Nasir let out a strangled yelp and fought his own limbs to get up. “What the hell-“  
“Shh! Stop yelling! Dammit,” Julian’s voice filled the room, grumpy with sleepiness. Nasir could only guess that he was grumpy before he went to sleep as well, seeing as he was in Nasir’s bed and not his own, in his own apartment.  
“Jules? Wha’ Th’hell you doing here?” Nasir slurred, still fighting himself to get up off of the bed. Luckily, or unluckily, his knee connected with a sensitive area on Julian’s body, and the bigger man shoved Nasir right off of the bed with a resounding thud through the room. On the floor again, great.  
“Watch your knee,” Julian hissed out, his voice strained a bit in pain. Nasir could just make out the other man as he rolled and peer over the side of the bed at Nasir on the floor. “Where the hell have you been?”  
Nasir felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. “At the party?” He suggested with a timid smile as he looked up at Julian, squinting in to the darkness of the room to attempt to see his boyfriend.  
“You didn’t call and say you were going to be so late,” Julian let out a rough sigh, falling back on to the pillows as he rubbed his eyes.  
Nasir moved, carefully crawling back on to the bed so that he wouldn’t knee Julian in the balls again. “I’m sorry! It ran later than I expected, and I made some new friends, so it was really fun.” Nasir rambled a bit as he moved to attempt to make Julian less grumpy by pressing several sloppy kisses to the man’s lips.  
“Nasir-Nasir, stop, you smell of beer, and lots of it.” Julian’s hands braced against Nasir’s shoulders, stiff arming him and keeping him back a bit.  
“Well, you’ve never complained about the smell of beer before. Especially when you come home smelling like it,” Nasir pointed out, his tone indicating that he was a bit pouty.  
Julian let out a sigh, sounding annoyed, as he pushed Nasir a bit more so that he rolled over him on to the other side of the bed. “Go to sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He grumbled some more as he got up and started to pull on his clothes.  
“Baby, come on, where are you going?” Nasir whined a little bit, which he would forever blame on being drunk, and pawed at the edge of the bed. He didn’t entirely have the energy to get up and physically stop Julian from getting dressed.  
“I’m going to go home and let you deal with your hang over by yourself.” Julian muttered, buttoning up his pants as he looked down at Nasir. “I guess if you need me, you’ll call me, right?” He sighed, looking a little bit dejected now that Nasir’s eyes were adjusted to the darkness. “Love you,” Julian leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to Nasir’s lips before he turned and walked out of the room.  
He hadn’t even given Nasir a chance to mechanically return the sentiments before he was out of the room. Although, it had been a while since Nasir had said those words and really meant them. Sure, he loved Julian, but he wasn’t sure that he was truly in love with Julian. They had been together for roughly two years, and Nasir had felt more passion stir in his belly with one look at a stranger tonight than he had in months with Julian.  
Nasir wasn’t the type of person that would stray from a relationship. He was strictly devoted to the man that he was with. He had always been that way, especially after seeing the love that his parents had as he grew up, as well as witnessing his friends go through rough relationships. Nasir had never wanted to go through those rough relationships, and he wanted what his parents had. A sort of earth shattering romance.  
At the beginning with Julian, it had been like that. But as they carried on and grew comfortable with each other, Nasir was sure that the passion died away a good bit. He loved Julian, he really did, but one new smashing introduction, and Nasir was questioning the past two years of his life with Julian. Agron was like a force knocking in to him; and no that was not a pun as to how the two initially first laid eyes on each other. Just because Agron nearly smashed him in to the floor doesn’t mean that was the sort of ‘force’ that Nasir thought about.  
No, it was more like an other-worldly pull, like the gravitational pull of the atmosphere surrounding a planet. Or a moth drawn to flame or some sort of light. Nasir hadn’t even touched this man’s skin and he knew that he would probably feel an electric response by a simple touch to Agron’s. It was such a ridiculous thought, and yet, Nasir fell asleep with thoughts of bright green eyes and deliciously lickable dimples.

+++  
Agron was sitting on his brother’s couch, bouncing a giggling four year old on his knees a bit absently as his mind wandered back to the alluring amber eyes and dark curls that the younger guy, Nasir, that he met at Spartacus’ party the other night had. He remembered the way that Nasir had felt against his hands as he had grabbed his sleeve covered arm and helped him from the floor after he’d knocked him down. He remembered the way Nasir’s cheeks tinted pink as he let out probably the biggest Freudian Slip he had ever witnessed in his life. He remembered the sound of Nasir’s laugh as he they talked on the roof for most of the party, how it sounded so velvety to his ears, making his stomach fill with what he can only describe as butterflies.  
Agron was brought back to earth as he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. “Agron, don’t drop my kid on his head.”  
Agron lifted his head to look at his brother, quickly taking a tighter hold of his nephew. “Sorry, Duro, I just…have a bit on my mind, that’s all.”  
Duro lifted his eyebrows slightly, “no kidding.” It was hard not to curse around the kid, but somehow the two managed. Otherwise, Duro’s wife, Michelle, would have both of their heads on a platter. “So, what’s got you so distracted, brother?”  
“I met someone,” Agron told his brother, turning his green eyes towards Duro again with a sheepish expression. He continued to bounce Alec on his knees.  
“You met someone….” Duro repeated, cocking his eyebrows at his brother as he leaned forward in his chair. “What’s he like?”  
Agron and Duro had been close since childhood, and Duro was exceptionally accepting of Agron’s preferences. Their parents had been skeptical at first, but of course, they began to wish only the best for their son, no matter what made him happy.  
“His name is Nasir, and he’s…. Gods, he’s perfect, Duro.” Agron gave his brother a bright dimpled smile as he looked down at Alec, quickly shifting his hands to tickle his nephew in to a fit of giggles.  
“You know there’s no such thing as perfect right?” Duro asked, and Agron had the feeling that Duro was just baiting him.  
“Shuddup, Duro, but listen to me! I mean it, Nasir is…seriously, Duro, he’s perfect.” Agron let out a breath, picking Alec up and setting him on his feet. Alec took that time to run off to play somewhere else.  
Duro just stared at his brother a bit blankly. “Alright, well, tell me about him them.”  
Agron then dove in to telling his brother about everything that had happened with Nasir at Spartacus’ party. How he’d nearly plowed him in to the floor. How he’d said he could plow him any time. How he got so adorably flushed and ran off to ‘jump off of the roof’. He told Duro about how Nasir ignored several phone calls while they stood and talked on the roof for most of the party. He even told Duro how he’d gone to Mira and Naevia and asked them to invite Nasir out for another one of their group gatherings.  
+++  
“Are you sure he’s coming?” Agron asked, looking over at Mira with a hopeful expression, “because you said he was coming, but he’s not here yet!” Since he had sat down at their booth, he had been exceptionally restless; more so than he usually was.  
It had been a couple of weeks since Spartacus threw the party, and Agron hadn’t seen or heard from Nasir since. It was driving him completely insane; more so than it should have, granted, but it was still causing him to lose his mind a bit more every day. Something about that little man was just so… magnetic. Agron couldn’t think of any other occasion where he felt so instantly drawn to another person upon first setting eyes on them.  
Mira let out an exasperated sigh and nodded as she rubbed her fingers across her forehead, “yes, Agron, I’m sure he’s coming. Unless something has happened since I sent him a text ten minutes ago to comfirm that he’d be her at your constant demands.”  
Agron sighed, holding up his hands in mock surrender and giving Mira his boyish grin, “Sorry! I can’t help it. I’ve been itching to talk to him again, and you and Naevia pulled him away at Spartacus’ party before I could get his information.”  
Mira cocked an eyebrow at him, about to firmly tell him to leave it be since she knew Nasir had a boyfriend, but Agron was saved when Naevia walked up with a grin. She kissed Agron’s cheek before sliding in to the booth next to Mira, “hey guys!”  
“Please tell me you brought Nasir so Agron will leave me alone,” Mira whined, hope springing up in her eyes as she looked at Naevia.  
Naevia let out a laugh and nodded, pointing over towards the door. “Yes, he was just parking the car. Has Agron really been that bad?” She asked, her eyebrows knitting up faintly.  
“No, Agron has not!” Agron defended himself even though his eyes instinctively turned towards the door to catch sight of the dark skinned wonder that he’d been thinking about nearly nonstop since the party.  
Agron felt a weight lift off of his chest when he caught sight of golden skin and dark hair entering the building. Thank the gods. He couldn’t help the shit eating grin that split his face as Nasir approached the table.  
Seeing as Naevia had taken the seat next to Mira, the only spot left was next to Agron. Agron realized this a bit too late, seeing as Nasir was now standing next to the table with a small, shy smile, waiting for Agron to move over so that he could join them. “Oh! Apologies,” Agron muttered, hurried scooting further in to his side of the booth so that Nasir could sit down.  
Nasir let out a soft laugh and shook his head a bit, “none required,” he muttered as he swung his hips a bit and slid in to the seat next to Agron. “How have you all been?”  
The girls nodded their answers as Agron jumped right in, “good! I’ve been kicking myself, though, because I never got your number or anything so that we could continue to talk and stuff.” His cheeks tinted when he realized he’d said that out loud, but the blush was subtle and completely adorable.  
“Oh,” Nasir’s eyebrows twitched together faintly as he turned his head to look at Agron with another tiny smile. “I see. Sorry about that.”  
“No, no,” Agron shook his head, lifting a hand to absently mess with his hair, “don’t be sorry. It was my fault for not asking for your number.”  
“That’s his subtle way of asking for your number,” Mira interjected with a curve of her lips.  
Nasir’s cheeks tinted a light pink as he nodded a bit. “I get that… thank you.” He reached over to grab the pen that Mira was so generously holding out for him. Glancing around for something to write on and finding nothing, Nasir grabbed Agron’s hand and tugged his arm over to his side of the table. He turned Agron’s palm up and moved his hand to rest at the crook of his elbow. Instead of writing his number on Agron’s palm, he wrote it on his forearm. “In case you were to accidentally smear the one on your hand or palm…” Nasir clarified at three question mark expressions.  
“Oh, right,” Agrin nodded and pulled his arm back to his side, careful not to smear the ink so soon. He gave Nasir a bright grin and tried not to focus on how his skin tingled from the skin to skin contact. Fuck, he was in so much trouble.


	2. Getting Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir and Agron move closer, but then something unexpected happens.

Two more weeks had passed since Nasir went to dinner with the girls and Agron. Two weeks had passed since Nasir had given Agron his phone number. He felt a bit like a cheat for texting Agron every day, but nothing had happened, right? Besides, Julian was in a constant bad mood around him lately, and he didn’t entirely remember what he had done to deserve such a treatment.  
Sitting on the floor in front of his couch with his laptop on the coffee table, Nasir tried to focus on writing his next article for the magazine he worked for. However, the only thing that he found himself typing out was horrendous thoughts about his horrible life as of now. He had a boyfriend that wouldn’t talk to him, and friend that was more like a boyfriend, and he couldn’t decide if he should end it with the real boyfriend, and go for the friend; who, in all honesty, made him conjure up some of the raunchiest wetdreams he had ever had in his entire life. It was completely maddening!  
The buzzing of his phone on the coffee table drew his attention away from deleting an entire page of drabble about Agron, Julian, and his current misfortunes. He picked up his phone and opened the message, a smile instantly curving his lips.  
Hey, you wanna meet us at the arena and go out for drinks? Xo-A  
Nasir found himself replying to the text before he could stop himself.  
Yeah, sure, send me the details and I’ll be there. What time? –N  
Nasir held the phone loosely in his hands as he stared across the room, waiting for a reply. When it buzzed in his hand, Nasir quickly regained his awareness.  
6pm. Dress for the club. Mira just said she wanted to, and I quote “shake what her moma gave her”-A  
Nasir let out a laugh at the text, just imagining Mira saying that to Agron as she shimmied her hips in a little dance. He quickly replied.  
Wow, okay, I’ll bring extra money for the booze to keep that image from mind.-N  
Nasir set his phone down and rubbed at his eyes, thinking that he needed to be focusing on work rather than shaking his ass with Agron. His phone going off again further delayed thoughts of work.  
Great. Can’t wait. I’ll see you at the arena later ;D -A  
Nasir responded that he needed the address of the arena and that he would see Agron at six o’clock. He glanced at the clock on his computer and sighed. He pushed himself up and moved through his apartment to his bedroom, showering and proceeding to get ready for a night out with Agron and the gang of friends he had grown pretty close to in the last month.  
When Nasir got out of the shower, he rushed back in to his living room at the sound of his phone ringing. Lifting it to his ear, he answered, “Hello?” But he knew who was calling.  
“Hey babe, you wanna go catch some dinner and a movie?” Julian’s voice said from the other end of the line.  
“I’m sorry, Jules, I made plans to go out with Mira and Naevia,” Nasir said, his tone very apologetic. He hadn’t lied; Mira and Naevia would be there. There just weren’t going to be the focus of his attentions at all points of the night. That wasn’t lying right?  
Nasir could hear Julian sigh on the other end of the line, and the guilt swarmed in to his stomach like the blazing warmth of a shot of tequila. “It’s alright, we’ll do something tomorrow, yeah?”  
“Yeah, babe, you got it.” Nasir replied, forcing the guilt from his tone and making it sound chipper. “I gotta go, they’re waiting for me. Love you,” Nasir muttered the last two words before he hung up the phone, not giving Julian the chance to return the sentiments.

+++  
Nasir arrived at the arena at 5:45 pm. He was punctual, if anything, so he always allowed himself at least fifteen minutes before the allotted time so that he was never late. It always worked exceptionally when in college and for meetings. He sort of blindly walked through the levels of the arena, heading down to the gym where Agron told him to come meet everyone. The boys had had a training session that day, it seemed, and it would just be easier to meet them there.  
Nasir didn’t mind so much, of course, because A) he was going to see Agron, B) he would be hanging out with Mira, Naevia, and his new friends as well, and C) he’d never been to the arena, and it was kind of cool to explore without security breathing down your neck during an event. Or so he assumed. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized he wasn’t lost, seeing the doors to the training room ahead of him. He pushed in to the room and stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw nearly falling to the floor.  
Agron was standing with his back to Nasir, lifting up a huge set of weights in curls to strengthen his biceps. And he was completely shirtless, his muscles rippling nicely in the wall length mirror at the other end of the room. Holy. Fucking. Shit. Nasir had to fight the blood from flowing from his head straight to his pants, and he barely succeeded. Luckily for him, Naevia bounced over to him and slung her arms around his neck in a tight greeting, forcing Nasir to remove his jaw from the floor and return to rational thought processing.  
“Hey!” Nasir greeted in a slightly breathless manner, hugging Naevia just as tight as she held on to him. “I’m early, I know, I just hate being late.” He sort of babbled, his eyes still watching the muscles dance along Agron’s back. Fuck, that was a beautiful back. He had the distinct urge to waltz right over to Agron and trail kisses along those shoulder blades.   
“It’s okay, the boys were just finishing up.” Neavia shook her head with a small laugh, “Well, the boys and Saxa, that is.”  
“Oh, the blonde from the party?” Nasir asked, pulling away from Naevia and looking at her with a slightly wrinkled brow.  
Naevia nodded again, but was interrupted when Agron basically pulled her away from Nasir completely and engulfed the smaller man in a huge bear hug, lifting him off of the floor. “Nasir!” Agron squeezed Nasir slightly, sort of twirling the two around in a half circle.  
Nasir’s senses were overwhelmed with everything Agron. That was the most that the two had touched in the month that they had known each other; and it set Nasir’s body on fire, it seemed. His nostrils were filled with a scent that should probably have grossed him out, but it was all Agron and all man, and completely intoxicating. Nasir knew it could only have been due to pheromones, but holy shit balls, it was such a heady sensation that Nasir stumbled faintly when Agron set him back on his feet.  
With Agron’s hands on his shoulders, steadying him, Nasir looked up in to Agron’s vivid green eyes and smiled a bit shyly up at him. “Hello to you, too.”  
Agron’s grin split his face in to as he looked down at Nasir, “Apologies. I couldn’t help myself.”  
Nasir shook his head slightly, taking a deep breath to clear his head; but that really only filled his senses with more of Agron. “No, it’s completely fine, just a little unexpected.” Nasir let out a soft laugh, lifting a hand to push some of his hair out of his eyes, “I hope you plan on putting on some clothes before we all go out- I mean, I don’t mind that you are half naked, but I think, perhaps, being in public might go over more smoothly if you are fully clothed.” Nasir’s cheeks tinted a bit, only darkening a bit when Agron chuckled.  
“Yeah, just give me a few to take a quick shower and then we can all head out.” His hands squeezed Nasir’s shoulders before he let go and turned to run off towards the locker rooms, leaving Nasir to gather his thoughts and force the blood back to his brain and not his pants.

+++

Agron couldn’t have a more shit eating grin on his face. He had his favorite people with him; including the one he favored most of all. Mira had told him after their dinner a couple weeks ago that Nasir had a boyfriend, but Agron knew that he hadn’t crossed any boundaries. He and Nasir were strictly friends, even if the prospect of having more made his stomach to back flips to escape the butterflies.  
Walking in to the club with his friends, Agron sort of ushered them all towards the bar. His broad shoulders and monstrous frame allowed him to push through the crowd of people in the club. The feeling of Nasir’s smaller hand wrapped in the shirt at his lower back only made his shit eating grin grow as he bouncer-ed his way through the people and finally reached the bar. The others formed around him, safely out of the crowd of gyrating bodies on the dance floor.  
Agron desperately wanted to grab Nasir by the elbow as pull him on to the dance floor just so he had an excuse to rub up against the smaller man; but a part of him knew that that was probably not a good idea, seeing as how Nasir was in a relationship. Two years, he remembered Mira telling him as he frowned disappointedly at her. It wouldn’t disrupt their friendship, though; Agron would make sure of that.  
The lot of them ordered drinks before the girls pulled their respective dance partners out on to the dance floor. Mira and Spartacus, Naevia and Crixus, and Saxa and Gannicus. This left Agron and the bar with Nasir. The music was loud, but if the two shouted they could hear each other speak clear enough to have a conversation.  
“Where’s your boyfriend tonight?” Agron asked, leaning forward a little bit to ease the communication.  
Nasir turned his head, looking up at him with wide eyes, his lips slightly parted. Agron back tracked, covering his ass, “Mira told me you had a boyfriend.” He amended, shrugging his shoulders and trying to keep the disappointment from his face. Just because he wanted to be Nasir’s boyfriend didn’t mean that he should guilt Nasir for having a previously established relationship.  
“Oh,” Nasir replied, Agron only being able to decipher the words by lip reading. “I’d made other plans before Julian asked me to dinner,” Nasir explained a bit louder so that Agron didn’t have to strain, “I couldn’t back out on you guys after promising I’d come.”  
“Right,” Agron nodded, averting his eyes to look at their dancing friends. They weren’t too far off, and Agron could see Saxa with her arms wrapped tightly around Gannicus’s neck, her lips pressed firmly against his in a rather impressive lip lock. Damn. How he wished he could pull Nasir to him and exhibit such carnal lust on the dance floor.  
“Do you want to dance?” Nasir asked, and when Agron turned back to him, he saw Nasir watching him closely. How could he resist the offer?  
Agron nodded and wrapped his fingers around Nasir’s elbow gently, pulling him towards the others on the dance floor. He attempted to keep his distance, just beginning to dance along to the music without pulling Nasir closer to him. Apparently keeping his distance wasn’t in the cards, though, because some guy walked behind Nasir and promptly shoved him right up against Agron, who managed to put his hands out to brace Nasir’s shoulders before he face planted against his chest.  
“Hey! Watch it fuckwad!” Agron yelled at the idiot who had essentially shoved Nasir.  
“Don’t worry about it,” Nasir shook his head, turning to put his back to Agron, staying close. He began to move to the music, his eyes closing as his head tilted back slightly.  
Agron was, once again, struck by this man. He was probably the most perfect creature Agron had ever seen in his life. If there was such things as Unicorns, Agron was sure that he just came across one’s path. He seemed so at east with himself as he let go and allowed the music to flow through him, swaying his hips along with the beat, and smiling up at the ceiling. He was so breathtakingly beautiful that Agron couldn’t control himself any longer. He moved his hands, expertly not spilling his beer, and rested them against Nasir’s hips.  
Nasir’s eyes opened momentarily, gazing back at him with his head tilted position, and he smiled up at Agron before he closed his eyes again. He continued to dance with the music, his body barely touching Agron’s as they both moved in a synchronized rhythm. Maybe this is what heaven felt like. Maybe this is what it felt like when the heavens opened up and decided to shine light down on something that was meant purely for you. Maybe this is what it feels like to find the other half of your soul.  
+++  
Dancing with Agron was probably the most sexually charged thing that Nasir had ever experienced. He wanted to brush up against Agron a bit more, to literally grind his hips against Agron’s, but he knew that that was probably crossing the line. He was in a supposed relationship, albeit with a man that he probably had loved for the last six months or more, but still a relationship; and grinding his ass on another guy was probably not the best way to make the point that he was a monogamous, loyal boyfriend.  
Finding it rather difficult not to grind his ass all over Agron, Nasir pulled him back towards the bar and ordered another drink. It was a safe zone, being at the bar. Nasir could still be in Agron’s presence without wanting (or being too overly tempted) to pull out some awesome stripper moves. Not that he knew what stripper moves looked like, that is.  
The two had been standing at the bar for at least an hour after their dancing. Several more drinks had been enjoyed by the time Nasir felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him to look towards the dance floor. As he turned, he briefly noted the possessive protective expression that crossed Agron’s face. Nasir’s mind was foggy with alcohol, so it took him a moment to register it, and by that time, he was looking up in to the face of his exceptionally pissed boyfriend.  
“Nasir!” Julian shouted over the music, his brow set in a stern line as he semi-glared down at Nasir. “I thought you said you were going out with Naevia and Mira!”  
Nasir pointed towards the dance floor where Naevia and Mira were dancing with Crixus and Spartacus. “They’re dancing, Julian, calm down. It isn’t a big deal.” Nasir shrugged, more relaxed from the alcohol, and he didn’t feel overly threatened due to feeling the heat come off of Agron as he stepped closer just a fraction.  
“It’s not a big deal?” Julian’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline as he let out a scoff, his jaw twisting to the side slightly as he shook his head and looked away from Nasir. “Not a big deal. Nasir, you ditched a date with your boyfriend to come to some club with friends who are ignoring you and talking to this schmuck.” He jabbed a finger towards Agron, who merely cocked an eyebrow.  
Nasir’s heart began to race as Julian pointed at Agron. Julian looked like he was getting angrier by the second, and Nasir’s buzz was wearing off quickly as he began to panic. “Julian, this is Agron, he’s a friend of mine. He’s friends with Mira and Naevia too.” He tried to explain, gesturing a bit vaguely to Agron. It wasn’t because he was blowing him off as unimportant, because if anything, he was all but that; it was more of a gesture to show Julian that he was over reacting.  
“We’re going home.” Julian snapped at him, taking the beer from his hand and slamming it down on the bar. He took Nasir’s hand and tugged him away from the bar.  
“Julian! What-“ Nasir attempted to pull his hand away from his boyfriend, but to no avail. Sometimes being small in stature really had its faults.  
Agron stepped away from the bar, a hand moving to Nasir’s shoulders, “Seriously, dude, don’t tug him around like he’s some kind of play thing!” Nasir noticed Agron’s jaw tightening as he looked at Julian; but Julian just pulled Nasir harder, successfully getting him away from Agron’s hand.  
“We’re leaving.” Julian said again, pulling Nasir through the crowd. All Nasir could really do was look back at Agron apologetically and give him a small, sad wave. He’d never seen Julian so angry.  
The two were nearly to Julian’s car when Nasir heard feet slamming against the pavement behind them. “Nasir!” Agron called out, worry in his tone.  
Nasir turned and looked at him with sad eyes. “Agron, don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to you later, okay? Tell the others that I’m sorry I had to leave so suddenly, but obviously there was a crisis that needed to be handled-.”  
“Handled?!” Julian shouted, apparently forgetting that they were no longer in the club surrounded by loud music that you had to shout over. “Godammit, Nasir, so now I’m something that has to be ‘handled’?” Julian shook his head and opened the passenger door of his car. “Get it.” He ordered through gritted teeth, his jaw set tight.  
Nasir looked at Agron again, who returned the look with an expression clearly written in worry. “Nasir…” He trailed off, glancing at Julian and the car like he thought it was a bad idea for Nasir to get in.  
“I’ll be fine, Agron, I’ll text you later.” Nasir gave him a small smile and moved to slide in to the car. Julian slammed the door as soon as he was in, causing Nasir to wince ever so slightly.  
Julian moved around the car quickly, getting in to the driver’s seat and revving the car to life. Nasir frowned as Julian gunned it and the car shot forward in to traffic. “Christ, Julian! Take it fucking easy!”   
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Julian asked, his tone accusing as he continued to drive the car a bit recklessly.  
“Nothing is wrong with me,” Nasir replied, his tone slipping from irritated to defensive in point two seconds. He quickly moved to put his safety belt on, partly fearing that Julian was going to get them both killed with his driving.  
Julian swerved the car around the car in front of them, which was apparently not going fast enough. “Be careful!” Nasir berated him, his hands balling in to fists in his lap.  
“Nasir, I don’t understand what’s happened between us,” Julian’s tone switched to something darker, something sadder.  
Nasir’s stomach curled as he glanced over at Julian, who was thankfully paying attention to the road. “I don’t know,” Nasir let out a defeated breath, “I just… I don’t know.”  
“Why were you looking at him like you wanted to fucking have his babies.” Nasir thought that was incredibly unrealistic, considering he couldn’t physically have children, but he wasn’t going to voice that. Julian didn’t give him a chance to respond, “you used to look at me like that. Like you worshiped the ground I walked on or something. You used to look at me like you thought I was the best thing on the planet, and now you’re looking at someone else like that.”  
Nasir’s stomach rose to his throat as Julian swerved around another car, only speeding up. “Julian, please slow down.” He warned him, his tone soft and urgent.  
“Tell me why!”  
“Julian! It’s a red light!” Nasir screamed, seeing Julian blatantly run a red light. Nasir’s hands flew up to brace the dashboard, his head snapping to the side to look at Julian. “Julian!” He screamed again, seeing bright white flash before his eyes.  
And then everything went black.


	3. Apologies, I'm Not Myself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the accident.

_Thump…_  
Everything was hazy. Everything had a red tint to it as he cracked his eyes open and searched around. The only sound he could hear was the sound of his heart pounding.  
 _Tha Thump…_  
Someone was shining a bright light in to his face. He heard the muffled sounds of words being spoken to him, but he couldn’t make out what the person was saying to him.  
 _Thump…_  
Suddenly there was excruciating pain throughout his body, the nerve endings responding with white hot responses throughout his entire being. His vocal chords gave way as he let out a scream of pain.  
 _Tha Thump…_  
He tasted blood in his mouth. His mind was too foggy to indicate whether it was from all of the screaming of if it was from something else. From what he could feel of his skin in his haze, it was sticky with something that he couldn’t quite place. His body felt as if it was floating; there was a splitting pain in his left side. It felt as if his body was being ripped apart just below his rib cage. Another wild scream, wracked with an insurmountable amount of pain piqued his body’s energy levels, causing everything to once again go black.  
+++

When he came to again, he could see four people standing over him. But they weren’t standing, they were moving and he was floating again. He saw the bright florescent lights passing over them as these people guided him along. Floating was such a wicked sensation.  
“Nasir? Nasir, can you hear me?” A soft and warm faced woman spoke down to him. Her voice sounded muffled, like the noises before, and Nasir could barely move his head to give her a nod.  
“Nasir, you were in a car accident. We are in the process of getting you in to surgery. Nasir? Nasir, stay with us.” The woman took his right hand, giving it a light squeeze, but Nasir barely felt it as he slipped back in to unconsciousness.  
Everything was so foggy in this weird dream. He saw faces floating around him. He saw bright lights floating towards him at high speeds. He saw a lot of red, but he couldn’t place what the red substance was. He could hear faint beeping, but he couldn’t figure out what the noise was or where it was coming from. Somehow, though, the noise kept him from panicking in this dark and desolate place inside of his head. He wanted to get out of that place. He wanted to feel strong arms wrapped around him, to see bright green eyes and lovely dimples as Agron smiled at him. Agron.  
Agron.  
+++  
Agron was in a straight up frenzy. Nasir had been pulled off by his psycho boyfriend- okay, he didn’t entirely _know_ if Julian was really psychotic, but he looked extremely psychotic when he shoved Nasir in to that car and bolted right out in to traffic. Agron hadn’t heard from Nasir in hours, and he was starting to worry. Had Julian done something to him? Did Nasir need him? He could be there without being all touchy-feely, even with how much he wanted to get touchy-feely. He could be a friend if that’s what Nasir needed.  
But Nasir hadn’t called him. He’d said that he would call him later. Well, it was later! Agron had told everyone what had happened: how Julian had come to the club and dragged Nasir away before Nasir could even say goodbye to his friends and explain that he had to go. He’d explained how Julian had shoved Nasir in to his car and just pulled right out in the middle of traffic. Agron had even explained how he’d wanted to break Julian’s nose for grabbing Nasir in such a rough way.  
He was completely beside him. He’d tried calling Nasir about a hundred times- no, seriously, he’d probably called a hundred times in his worried state of mind. He needed to know that his little man was alright. He needed to know that Julian hadn’t hurt him and that Nasir wasn’t in need of Agron’s help, of any kind. He needed to hear Nasir’s voice to make everything fluttering around inside his stomach, and not in a good way, ease down so that he could stop fidgeting and pacing.  
Naevia and Mira had told him that it would be fine. “Julian’s not a violent guy,” they’d said. “He’s just got a bad and short temper,” they’d said. But Agron didn’t entirely buy that shit. The look on Julian’s face… Agron couldn’t help but think that something bad had happened and he wasn’t there for Nasir.  
On the hundred and first phone call, someone picked up. It wasn’t Nasir, which made Agron feel like he was going to throw up. “Hello?” the female voice asked.  
“I need to speak with Nasir. It’s..uh.. an emergency.” Agron said in to the receiver, sounding a bit more panicked than he would have liked to admit, “Tell him it’s Agron. He’ll want to talk to me.”  
“Mr. Agron,” the woman began, letting out a slightly nervous sounding sigh, “Nasir has been in a car accident. We couldn’t find any information for someone to call-.”  
“Me! I’m here. Tell me what’s going on! Where is he? Is he okay? Tell me he’s okay. Please tell me he’s okay,” panic rose like bile from Agron’s stomach, spreading out through every inch of his body like an icy chill washing over him. He could feel his heart starting to pound, even more so than it had been before. Nasir was in a car accident! Fuck the gods, what if he was hurt? What if it was bad? What if it was _really_ bad?!  
“Mr. Agron, if you have a close relationship to Nasir, it might be a good idea for you to come down to the hospital. I’m sure his doctors wouldn’t mind speaking with you about this subject.” The woman’s voice as calm and patient, and it drove Agron nearly over the edge, “I’m not permitted to discuss more information over the phone. I wasn’t even supposed to answer a patient’s phone, but I saw that you had called repeatedly, and he was asking for you as the paramedics brought him in. He was delirious, but I figured you were close with the patient-.”  
“Tell me where he is.” Agron nearly spat the words out, his panic turning in to anger- it was his go-to defense mechanism against anything. Well, except maybe utter happiness; if he was so completely happy, he had no reason to be angry, did he?  
“First Memorial. He is currently in surgery in the O.R, but once he is out, his doctors will determine where he will go. Drive safely, Mr. Agron,” the woman added the last bit before she hung up the phone.  
Agron suspected her warning was purely for his own benefit, and, of course, she had a valid point. Agron speeding and driving recklessly to the hospital wouldn’t help Nasir any. Besides, he was in surgery, he wasn’t going anywhere. At least, Agron hoped he wasn’t going anywhere- but he forced himself not to think of such things. He couldn’t even think of how he’d react if something happened to his little man before he made it there.  
Agron called Mira on his way out of the door. When he’d hung up with her, he was already in his car. Admittedly, he knew he was driving faster than he probably should have been, but his little man was in the hospital! How could he possibly not break every law possible while trying to get to Nasir’s side? Seriously. He had to get there, and he had to get there soon.  
Agron barely put his car in park and shut it off before he was out of the vehicle and running towards the doors of the hospital. He frantically followed the arrows towards the operating room receptionist’s desk, where he leaned against the desk and sucked in a few deep breaths to calm his breathing. “Nasir-.” He cut off, trying to catch his breath more. “Nasir. He was in a car accident. Some nurse said he was in surgery- is he out? Is he okay? Can I see him?”  
Agron fired off the questions in quick recession, just needing to know that Nasir was fine. The anxiety in that nurse’s voice was just imagined and Agron could breathe if he knew that Nasir was okay. He had to be okay. He was Agron’s little man for fuck’s sake! He couldn’t just be..No. Agron refused to think like that.  
“If you have a seat in the waiting room, I’m sure someone can answer your questions soon,” the older woman behind the desk told him, waving her arm towards the rows of chairs across from her desk. Her expression was empathetic, but Agron wasn’t at all comforted by her sweet tone and warm motherly appearance.  
Agron stared at the woman for a good moment before he let out a huffy breath and literally drug his feet over to the waiting area. He dropped heavily in to one of the chairs and nearly doubled over as he put his head in his hands. He couldn’t do this again. It had only been a couple years since he was sitting in this exact same room, awaiting the news from his parents’ doctors. He had to be strong for Duro, then, but now what was he supposed to do?  
He was going out of his brain, here, and all he could think of was how he felt when the doctors came out of the operating room two years ago. All they had to do was give a small shake of their head and Agron had known; he’d known instantly that he and Duro were now orphans. Of course, they were old enough to take care of themselves, but their parents were still gone. They’d never see Alec grow up. They’d never see Agron meet the man he was going to marry and adopt a family with. They wouldn’t see the great accomplishments of their boys and their families. They were just… gone.  
And now Nasir was hanging in the balance of being here and being gone, and Agron couldn’t stop himself from panicking. What if that happened? What if Nasir ended up..gone.. and Agron never got the chance to tell him that he was the most beautiful person he had ever met? What if Nasir never got to know that Agron was already so head over heels in love with him and the two had only hugged! What if Nasir never realized that Agron believed him to be his soul mate and that he would never ever ever find anyone in the whole world that was as perfect for him as Nasir was?  
Agron’s body tensed when he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head, seeing Mira resting her hand on his shoulder. His eyes trailed past her, seeing Naevia, Spartacus, Crixus, and the whole gang standing behind her, all carrying expression of equal worry. What if Nasir never realized that he had a family here with these people?  
+++  
Nasir was out of surgery. Mira, Naevia, and the others were waiting outside of Nasir’s room. Only one person could come in at a time, and Agron had been stealing all of Nasir’s visitor rights. It wasn’t like the others minded too much, so long as they stuck around for when Nasir woke up. Agron hadn’t left his side since he was placed in the Intensive Care Unit.  
He couldn’t believe that this had happened. Everything had been going so well, he thought. He and Nasir had a budding friendship, despite the ulterior feelings involved on Agron’s part. He couldn’t be certain that Nasir felt the same way, but he knew how he felt, and he knew that he would never leave Nasir’s side again. He just needed Nasir to open his eyes.  
He hadn’t come out from under the anesthesia the doctor’s used during his surgery yet. It had been nearly twenty four hours and Nasir was still unconscious. Grant it, his body had been put through massive trauma, plus three hours of surgery to remove the large shard of glass and it’s tiny broken off pieces. His insides had to be repaired as much as they could, closed up, and then he had to be stapled shut because stitches just wouldn’t cut it.  
Agron had never seen Nasir look so vulnerable. His skin was ashen and pale, and it was also as if he couldn’t see Nasir’s chest rising and falling. He supposed it was lucky that his little man was breathing on his own, at least, so that was a good sign. He just needed him to open his eyes. He needed to see those beautifully round and endless honey colored eyes, sometimes darker, sometimes lighter depending on lighting. He just needed him to open his eyes.  
Agron sat beside Nasir’s bed, his chair pushed as close as he could get it to the bed. His long fingers were wrapped around Nasir’s right hand, Nasir’s knuckles pressed lightly to his lips as he watched Nasir sleep. After a few more moments of watching Nasir, Agron lowered their hands to the bed beside Nasir’s hip.  
“Ima need you to open your eyes, Little Man,” Agron whispered, as if speaking louder would somehow make this situation worse. “Ima need you to open those beautiful eyes.”  
Agron would never admit it to anyone, not even Duro, but he as if his heart was missing. No, in reality, his heart was unconscious in a hospital bed in the ICU. His heart was on the brink. Agron felt the unfamiliar stinging at the back of his eyes, the tightness take over his throat.  
“I really need you to wake up, Nasir.” He muttered, afraid that if he spoke any louder or any more pronounced that his voice would crack and he would be lost to the onslaught of emotions that had been tornadoing through him since Julian had appeared at the club and ruined his fun night with Nasir.  
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here,” Agron said after a moment, lifting Nasir’s hand to press his lips to Nasir’s knuckles once again. He kept Nasir’s hand against his lips as he trailed his thumb over the inside of Nasir’s wrist lightly.  
“I’m so sorry,” he closed his eyes, muttering against Nasir’s skin. “I’m so sorry this happened. I’m… I’m sorry that he got angry because you were with me. I’m so sorry, Nasir. So, so sorry. I couldn’t stay away from you. I… I wanted to be near you as much as I could. I had to be. Because… Because it felt like I was finally home. After my parents died… I tried to get that feeling again, really, I did. But nothing worked. I knew that people were worried about me, but you… You can crashing in to my life and I finally felt alive again. And… And I need you to open your eyes so I can feel that again, because right now?... Right now I feel like I’m dying slowly… and it’s so agonizing to see you lying here and so..so broken.”  
Agron kissed Nasir’s knuckles repeated, keeping his eyes shut tight to ensure that the tears that he knew were building wouldn’t fall down his cheeks. He couldn’t lose it. He had to be strong. He always had to be strong. “I don’t know what to do here. I’m losing my head thinking that you won’t wake up,” Agron heard his own voice shaking and it made his throat feel even tighter. He took a steadying breath, “we’re meant to be together, Little Man. No matter what happens or who comes in to the picture, or was in the picture… We’re meant to be together. I know that in my soul. You are the other half of it. My other half, and I need you to open your eyes. Can you.. Can you do that for me? Please?” Agron sweared to himself that if Nasir would just open his eyes that he would love that little man more than anyone.   
Agron shifted his grip on Nasir’s hand, placing their palms together, “Nasir? Nasir, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand. Come on, baby, squeeze my hand. Please.. please squeeze it.”  
Agron opened his eyes and looked down at Nasir, feeling his bottom lip trembling against Nasir’s knuckles. “Please, Nasir. Please, please, _please_ , open your eyes for me.” He knew he was begging in vain, but Agron didn’t care. He wanted Nasir to open his eyes. To come back to the real world. To come back to him.  
+++

Opening his eyes seemed like the hardest thing he had ever had to do. Nasir’s eyes slowly fluttered open. Things weren't as blurry and foggy as they had been before, and the white hot pain that had shot through his body with each heart beat was now I dull ache. His throat, however, felt like it consisted of the roughest sandpaper in the universe.  
Nasir turned his head slowly, fearing that perhaps if he moved, the white hot, searing pain would come back a hundred fold. He was relieved to find that the pain didn’t return as he shifted his head. He vaguely felt something tickling the back of his right hand, so he shifted his head in that direction. He spotted a head full of light brown hair lying right next to his hand.  
Despite the fear of bringing the pain back, Nasir tentatively lifted his right hand, pushing his fingers in to the hair on the head next to him. He knew whose head it was, of course. He’d know that stature anywhere, despite not being able to see his face. As soon as Nasir’s fingers delved in to those softer-than-they-looked locks, Agron’s head snapped up.  
His usually vivid green eyes were a duller color than Nasir normally saw. Agron’s eyes were wide, shadowed by dark circles under the lower lids as if he hadn’t slept in days. “Nasir!” His eyes lit up slightly, but they still held that exhausted dull effect.  
Nasir opened his mouth to speak, but could only manage a small croak opposed to what he really wished to say. The words were just out of reach, and Nasir couldn’t get them across. He wanted to tell Agron that he was sorry for being pulled away, that he should have called him. He wanted to tell Agron that he was sorry that he looked so tired and so worried. He wanted to tell Agron that he’d dreamt about him, constantly.  
Agron must have realized how dry Nasir’s throat was, because he stood up and carefully leaned over to grab the pitcher of water on the side table, quickly pouring Nasir a cup. He moved the straw, placing it against Nasir’s lips so that he could drink. Nasir took a tiny pull off of the straw, feeling the cold liquid fill his mouth and flow down his throat. He felt like he’d been in the desert for five years without water.  
When Nasir had apparently had his fill, Agron set the cup down and slid his hands around Nasir’s hand, lifting it to his lips and pressing a kiss to his knuckles lightly, “Gods, you scared me,” Agron muttered, his tone suggesting just how tired he really was.  
Nasir cleared his throat faintly, closing his eyes from the residual effects of the drugs the hospital had him on, “sorry,” he managed to mutter as he opened his eyes to look at Agron again.  
Agron sat and stared at him for another moment before he stood up, “I.. I should get your doctors.” He took one last look at Nasir before he stuck his head out of the door for a moment before he came back to sit next to Nasir.  
A few moments later, a tall man with tan skin walked in to the room. He gave Nasir a relieved smile and started to look over his chart. “I’m very glad to see you awake, Nasir. You gave us quite a fright.”  
Nasir wanted to respond to the doctor, but he couldn’t really muster up the energy to say anything of import. He relaxed against the bed, feeling the dull pulsing pain in his side more prominently now that he had his wits about him somewhat. He remained quiet for a long while as the doctor checked his vitals and machines.  
And then a thought occurred to him. He turned his eyes quickly to the doctor, “Where’s Julian?” He asked, his pulse spiking faintly.  
The doctor paused in what he was doing, glancing quickly at Nasir. He let out a sigh and glanced at Agron, who sat a bit rigidly in his chair. Nasir didn’t like the look of this. Not one bit. “Where is he?” He asked again, his eyebrows pulling together a bit.  
“Nasir… Julian took the brunt force of the accident on his side of the car.” The doctor explained, his tone soft and gentle; but that only caused panic to spread through Nasir’s chest quicker.  
“Where is he?!” Nasir’s voice rose in volume, and he was tempted to get out of the bed and shake the doctor. “Just tell me!”  
“Nasir…” The doctor trailed off, a frown touching his lips. “Julian didn’t make the trip to the hospital.”  
“What? Then why isn’t he here? He wouldn’t just leave me in the hospital-.”  
“Nasir.” The doctor shook his head faintly, “Julian didn’t show any vitals at the scene of the accident. He didn’t survive.”  
Nasir felt as if all of the air had left his lungs. He stared at the doctor, half expecting the man to break out in a chuckle and say ‘just kidding!’ as he waved a hand at him. He chanced a glance at Agron, who was staring down at their hands with a perfectly masked expression.  
“No…” Nasir whispered, shaking his head. “No. That can’t be right-.”  
“Nasir, the paramedics found no vitals. By the time they arrived, Julian was gone. The impact from the accident likely killed him instantly. There is very little chance that he felt any pain.”  
“No!” Nasir shook his head hard as Agron gave his hand a tiny squeeze.  
“Nasir, I’m so sorry,” Agron turned his green eyes to Nasir, his expression wrought with sadness, or guilt, or both.  
Nasir pulled his hand away from Agron, continuing to shake his head as he whined out, “no, no no.”  
This couldn’t be happening. Julian couldn’t be gone. Nasir had been with him for two years, had known him for three. They had been best friends before they had decided to take things to the next level. And even despite his sudden flourish of feelings for Agron, Nasir loved Julian. He was basically family. He had been the only family Nasir had had for a long time. And now he was gone.  
It was becoming harder and harder to breath. The tightness of his throat was so much worse than the feeling of sandpaper he’d had previously. The immediate watering of his eyes overflowed as tears fell down his face. The pressure in his chest could only be something akin to heartbreak.  
Nasir choked on his breaths, trying to control himself. Agron moved, taking hold of his hand again, squeezing it lightly as if he just wanted Nasir to know that he was there. The gesture only made Nasir feel worse about all of this. “This is my fault,” he sobbed out, thoroughly ignoring the splitting pain at his side as the sobs strained his wound. “It’s all my fault. He’s gone and it’s my fault!”  
“No,” Agron shook his head, pressing soft kisses to Nasir’s hand, “no, no, Nasir, it’s not your fault. It was an accident. It’s no one’s fault.”  
“But it is,” Nasir nodded through his sobs, trying so desperately to catch his breath; but the deeper he tried to breath, the sharper the pain and the harder the tears fell. “It’s my fault. He’s gone because of me. I-I blew him off to hang out with everyone. H-he was angry at me a-a-and he drove too fast. Too.. too recklessly. He’s gone because I didn’t show him the love that I used to. He-he’s gone because I look at you the way I used to look at him—Oh, Gods, this is all my fault!”  
Nasir choked on his words, banging his head back against his pillow, wishing more than anything that the simple act would hurt him more than what he was feeling at the moment. His entire body shook with the sobs and the strain it was under from the pain of his wound.  
The next thing that Nasir knew, Agron had sat on the edge of his bed and pulled him to his chest. Nasir let out a pained sob from the strain against his wound, but at this point, he welcomed the pain, embraced it. He deserved it. His arms wrapped around Agron tightly, his fingers gripping the shirt at Agron’s shoulder blades so hard that he lost feeling in his fingers. He couldn’t help the way his body slouched in to Agron’s, his face tucked in to the side of Agron’s neck as he sobbed uncontrollably against Agron’s pulse. Nasir couldn’t help that fact that he clung to Agron like his life depended on it.


	4. Low

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir has some trouble thoughts while recovering; and then an unexpected visitor shows up, leaving Agron in a right state.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as I was typing this (and completely in the groove, unaware of the words coming from my finger tips) Microsoft Word decided to crap out on me, completely crashing. So, everything I had prior to that was completely lost and I had to start over. It's a bit different than it was before Word decided to be a twat, so, hopefully it's still worth the wait!

Two weeks. Two weeks had gone by since Nasir had woken up in the hospital after the accident. Two weeks since his best friend and lover had been killed. Two weeks had gone by and Nasir basically felt nothing. Everything inside of him felt dark and desolate and lacking. He might have been out of the hospital at this point if Agron hadn’t pulled Nasir to him the night he woke up, effectively ripping several of his staples out as he sobbed uncontrollably. Nasir hadn’t even felt the pain from the tearing. The only reason either of them realized what had happened is because the doctor noticed crimson seeping through Nasir’s hospital gown.

He’d had to go back in to surgery to make sure nothing else had ripped open at the sharp movement, but Nasir wasn’t entirely concerned about his well being. If anything, he felt like he deserved all of the pain he was in. His mind was fogged with countless doubts and guilt over everything that had happened. He kept himself under the haze of the pain medications supplied through the morphine pump by his side. If he was drugged, he couldn’t feel; and if he couldn’t feel, then he was content with everyone being around him.

He’d been assigned his own private room for his recovery. This was probably Agron’s doing, seeing as how Nasir had been through so much and Agron hadn’t left his side for very long since he’d woken up. It was almost to the point where Nasir wanted to yell at Agron to go home, but he couldn’t force himself to put a damper on Agron’s moods. He was bubbling with energy, an energy than Nasir couldn’t compete with; he knew that underlying emotions were tearing at Agron, they had to be, but Agron was doing a bang up job hiding them.

Nasir sat in bed, the bed lifted to make the position easier on his body so that he didn’t strain. He hadn’t been allowed much movement during his stay in the hospital except for the occasional trip in a wheel chair. The doctors worried that if he moved too much, more staples would be ripped from his flesh and the wound reopened. Nasir, at this point, would welcome such a thing.

He half listened to Mira and Agron chatting animatedly about an upcoming tournament in a few months. Nasir didn’t know what they were talking about, per say, but he enjoyed that Agron had someone else to talk to besides him; he hadn’t entirely been the best conversationalist in the past two weeks. His mind had been riddled with thoughts of Julian and everything he’d done wrong with him. He was filled with guilt over the situation he had landed himself in; guilt about pulling away from Julian, about ditching him to hang out with Mira and Naevia and later Agron and the others, about how he’d brushed off the night at the club like no big deal when he knew Julian had wanted a date night, and about how Julian was so angry with him that he drove recklessly enough to get himself killed. Nasir was wracked with guilt because it was all his fault.

“Oh, Agron, you’re so hilarious!” Mira laughed loudly as she swung out a leg and kicked Agron lightly on the thigh, “there’s no way you’re going to win that tournament! You’ve got Gannicus and Oenomaus, seasoned champs, and then Spartacus and Crixus to go through for the winnings.”

“Don’t underestimate me,” Agron pointed a finger at her, a grin on his face, indicating he wasn’t taking her too seriously, “I can win! You just don’t get it.”

“What don’t I get? I know you’re a good fighter, Agron, believe me, I do. You’re unbelievable in the arena, but what happens if you’re pitted against one of your friends?”

“Crixus isn’t my friend,” Agron pointed out, crossing his arms loosely over his broad chest.

“Don’t even play that card. I know you two aren’t best buds, but there is loyalty there if it ever came up,” Mira countered, jabbing him with the toe of her shoe again.

“Yeah, yeah, but in the ring, I’d kick his ass in to the floor.” Agron told her, looking over at Nasir with a wide dimpled grin, “Aint that right, Little Man.”

Nasir let out a noncommittal hum of agreement, being brought back to the conversation fully. He looked between the two of them, both looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. Nasir offered a faint smile and turned his eyes back to the T.V hanging on the opposite wall absently.

Mira cleared her throat, looking at her watch, “I should go. I’ll come back tomorrow and bring you some real food, okay, Nasir?” She stood up from the edge of his bed and leaned to press a kiss to his forehead.

Nasir gave her a forced smile and nodded, “Okay, thanks for coming.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I gladly come to visit.” She ruffled Agron’s hair before she made her way out of the room, closing the door soundly behind her.

Agron turned his attention to the T.V as well once Mira was gone and his conversation followed her. He slouched in his chair a bit, propping his feet up on the edge of Nasir’s bed. His arms folded loosely over his chest, he continued to watch the movie that was playing on the screen.

Nasir glanced over at him discretely, a frown turning down his lips. The only times Agron had left his room were when Duro needed him for an emergency baby sitter and to head home for more clothes or to wash some. At one point, Nasir had sent Agron to his apartment for some of his clothes just to get the other man out of the hospital. He was such a brilliant soul that Nasir couldn’t stand to see him cooped up in the hospital room with him, someone who was probably shit company at the present time.

After about fifteen more minutes of silence, Nasir let out a breath, looking down at his hands in his lap. “Agron.”

Agron made no visible indication that he’d heard Nasir as he watched the movie. Nasir cleared his throat and spoke a bit louder, “Agron. I think you should go.”

That seemed to get Agron’s attention because his head snapped around as he looked at Nasir with slightly wide eyes, “What?”

Nasir swallowed heavily, “I think you should go home. Get out of here, y’know?”

Agron shook his head, “Nasir, what-?”

Nasir let out a breath and tilted his head back on to his pillows, “You’ve been here pretty much nonstop since I woke up, and you were here before that too, right? Go home. Get some real sleep. Get a long shower and some real food. Get back to your life. You don’t have to feel obligated to stay here with me.”

“Nasir, I don’t feel obligated to do anything,” Agron’s eyebrows pulled together faintly as he studied Nasir, who could practically feel Agron’s gaze on him. “I’m here because we’re friends. And friends are there for each other.”

Agron’s words only made the guilt thicken in his stomach, causing an odd pressure on his chest. Friends were there for each other; and there was another flaw Nasir found in himself. He hadn’t been there for Julian. “Just go home, Agron. Just get out of here and back to your life. You were talking about that tournament; don’t you have training or something to do? You’ve been here for two weeks straight and I’m tired.” Nasir lifted his hand and rubbed his eyes lightly as he let the bed down with his other hand, “I’m so fucking tired.”

“Nasir-.”

“Just fucking go!” Nasir shifted roughly on to his left side, welcoming the pain from his injury. He curled up, pressing his side down further in to the bed and embracing the pain as he tucked his arms and pulled his legs in to a curve close to his torso. “Just go,” he muttered half heartedly as he closed his eyes tightly.

The next thing that Nasir knew, the bed shifted behind him. An arm snaked under his head, Agron’s arm moving around him as his hand rested on his right shoulder. Agron’s other arm carefully moved around his waist, sliding up Nasir’s forearm until his fingers brushed the back of Nasir’s hand and forced their way to entwine with Nasir’s.

“No,” Agron whispered as if speaking loud would disrupt something sacred, shaking his head which caused his lips to brush against Nasir’s shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay right here. This is where I want to be, and I know you need someone here. What you’ve been through… I can’t even…” Agron trailed off, his breath warm on Nasir’s shoulder.

Nasir shook his head again, which made Agron tighten his hold around him. “You don’t understand,” Nasir whispered in return, “I can’t stand that you’re wasting your time in here with me, cooped up in this fucking hospital. You have family, and friends, and I don’t want to be somebody’s charity case-.”

“You’re not my charity case, Nasir,” Agron shook his head again, his thumb brushing soothingly across Nasir’s shoulder. “I want to be here. I like being around you, and I want to help you through this.”

“You can’t,” Nasir sort of whimpered out, feeling his eyes sting a bit and closing them more tightly. “You can’t help me with this. You can’t do anything because it’s all my fault. You can’t possibly make me feel anything but guiltier than I already am. I can’t take any of this back.”

“What do you have to take back?” Agron asked, voice just above a whisper.

“Everything,” Nasir replied softly, feeling his body tremble and subconsciously move closer to the warmth Agron’s body provided. “I can’t take back how I pulled away from Julian. I… I can’t take back the decisions to blow him off for that party and for going to the club with you..and Mira and Naevia and the others.” Somehow saying ‘you’ like it was just Agron felt like admitting that Nasir had done all of it for his feelings for Agron. “I can’t take back how I stopped saying ‘I love you’ because I meant it and instead said it like some obligatory, mechanical response. I can’t say that I’m sorry the passion died away and switched to something else, something more comfortable and safe. I can’t tell him that I loved him and he was the only family that I had… that.. that he was my best friend. It’s all my fault.”

Nasir felt his bottom lip beginning to tremble, causing him to duck his head and press his forehead against Agron’s forearm. He shifted slightly, pressing his side harder in to the bed and causing himself to let out a tiny gasp from the pain.

Agron’s arms tightened around him, his hand squeezing Nasir’s slightly. “No,” Agron whispered against the skin of his shoulder, pressing his lips half against Nasir’s skin and half against the wife beater tank top that Agron had brought back from his apartment. “None of that was your fault. You can’t blame yourself for this, Nasir. Julian… Julian over reacted to what he saw at the club. You said it yourself, you had already made plans to come out with us, and Julian coming to the same club was just a fluke, okay? You can’t do this to yourself.”

Nasir let out a shaking breath, shaking his head. “He was so angry. He was angry at me for letting all of this happen, for pulling away from him, for, for looking at-.” Nasir stopped, biting down on his bottom lip hard enough to taste blood, metallic and tangy, in his mouth. “I couldn’t even go to his funeral for fuck’s sake,” he sort of whined out, pressing his forehead harder against Agron’s forearm. “I couldn’t say goodbye or,” he sucked in a quick sharp breath, “or tell him that I loved him and that he was my best friend, my only family for so long.”

Nasir knew that he was repeating himself, but he really didn’t care. Agron’s arms tightened around him as Agron pressed his face against the back of his neck. “I know,” he whispered, breath hot on Nasir’s skin, “Shh.. shh.. I got you.”

+++

Agron kept his arms securely around Nasir until he felt the smaller man’s body relax and his breathing evened out. Agron wasn’t entirely sure how long the two had been lying there like that, but he didn’t entirely care. His little man needed him, and he would stay like that for as long as Nasir needed. He kept his forehead pressed to the back of Nasir’s neck, listening to Nasir’s deep, even breathing as he slept. He’d kept all of that inside, and Agron realized how exhausting that must have been.

As Nasir slept, Agron pressed random feather light kisses to the back of Nasir’s neck, his thumb brushing the skin of his shoulder slowly and gently. He didn’t want to disturb the slumbering man, but a part of him wanted to reassure Nasir, even in sleep, that he was there. So, he just held on tight and tried desperately not to think inappropriate things; despite the situation it could happen.

Nasir’s body fit perfectly against his. When he’d finally relaxed in his sleep, Nasir’s feet had moved, tucking their way between Agron’s ankles seeking warmth. Nasir’s free hand had moved to lightly grasp Agron’s wrist, holding his hand in place as it held on to Nasir’s other hand, fingers entwined still. Agron couldn’t help but think how natural this felt. How safe and how comfortable, like the two had seriously been made for each other.

His little man was such a strong soul. He’d been through such a traumatic experience, and Agron gathered from everything that Nasir had said that he was all alone. He had no family left, and now Julian was gone and he was orphaned all over again. The thought made Agron’s chest constrict as he held on to his heart, keeping him close as if that would make him realize that Agron was there to be anything he wanted him to be: including family, friend, and lover. Eventually Agron dozed off as well, his arms securely around Nasir, holding the small man back against his chest.

The next thing that Agron knew, Nasir’s body was being yanked from his arms and two loud voices rang out in to the room. One was Nasir’s pained cry. The other was someone screaming, “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!”

Agron’s mind was foggy with slumber, so it took him a minute to open his eyes and realized what the hell was going on. However, as soon as he saw what was happening, he found himself on the floor next to Nasir, his hands carefully placed on Nasir’s shoulders. Rage pretty much took over as he looked up at Nasir’s assailant.

Agron was in the process of helping Nasir up when the guy swung out a fist and punched Nasir square in the mouth. “What the fuck, Nasir?! I come by to check on you and you’re cuddled up to this mother fucker?” The guy was obviously in a complete rage as well.

Nasir’s head snapped to the side and he stumbled against Agron’s body, looking like he was incredibly confused about this situation. Agron’s jaw set in to a hard line, his teeth grinding together with such force that he was sure his teeth would crumble. “Who the fuck do you think you are, mate?!” Agron miraculously moved Nasir to the bed, gently setting him down. He turned to check on his little man, his vision going red when he noticed Nasir’s hand and shirt stained with blood as he clutched at his side.

“Julian was my brother and he’s been dead two weeks and you’re already shacking up with him?!”

“Chris, I-“

“Shut up!” Chris, so it seemed, yelled at Nasir, pointing an angry finger at him. “You’re such a fucking lousy person! Do you realize that Julian would have hung the moon for you and now you’re just so blatantly with someone else?! What the fuck is wrong with you—It should have been _you_ that died in that wreck you worthless piece of shit!”

Before Agron could stop himself, he advanced on the intruding guy, snapping his arm out in a professionally skilled punch to the guy’s nose. Chris fell back on to the floor, grasping his copiously bleeding nose. “Don’t you fucking talk to him that way, you fucking shit.” Agrin pointed a finger down at the idiot on the floor, seriously considering beating the shit out of him.

“You just broke my nose! What the hell is wrong with you?!” Chris wailed, clutching his face.

“You just barge in here, punch an injured man—“ Agron cut himself short, reaching down to grab Chris by the front of his shirt and haul him up off of the floor. “You better be _really_ fucking glad that you’re in a hospital.” He growled out, walking forward and simultaneously shoving Chris towards the door.

“You have no right—“

“I have no right?” Agron let out a laugh, bordering on sadistic, “you’re the one who just punched an injured man. Get out of here, you sack of shit.” Agron shoved Chris one good time towards the door. “Get out of here before I make you.”

Chris turned and ran out of the door, still grasping his bleeding nose. Agron let out a noise that was very similar to a bark before he turned and marched over to Nasir. It was amazing how quick Agron’s expression went from blaringly livid to concerned and gentle. “Nasir?”

Kneeling in front of Nasir, Agron looked up at him, one hand moving to cup the side of Nasir’s neck gently. “Are you—“ He looked down at Nasir’s side, seeing the blood soaking through his tank top. “I’m going to kill—“

“Agron,” Nasir breathed out as he shook his head, “just get the doctor, okay?” His breathing had kicked up a notch, and Agron could tell that he was in some serious pain.

“Yeah, right, the doctor.” Agron stood up and quickly moved towards the door. He glanced back at Nasir, who offered him a tiny, tight smile, before he rushed out of the room and grabbed the nearest doctor.

“What’s the problem?” The doctor asked, his eyebrows arching up faintly as he took in Agron’s state.

“Some guy just came in and yanked him off of the bed, then punched him. He’s bleeding and I can tell he’s in pain.” Agron spoke quickly, ushering the doctor towards Nasir’s room. “Do something about it,” he urged, walking the doctor in to Nasir’s room.

Agron stood back as he watched the doctor check Nasir’s wound. He apparently believed that the split lip was cake compared to the gaping injury at Nasir’s side. Watching the doctor work, Agron couldn’t help but silently seethe. He wanted to chase that guy down and beat him to a bloody pulp for hurting his little man. He couldn’t believe that fucking shit had just barged in and hurt Nasir like that! He wasn’t just shacking up with him! Nasir was grieving and he needed a friend! So Agron was there, comforting him, and that guy had just ruined that awesome cuddling session.

Agron had to take a moment. He turned and headed out of the room, knowing that Nasir was safe in the hands of the doctor. He just needed some air. He needed to cool down so that he didn’t seriously find that douchebag and reiterate just how wrong he was for hitting an injured man. _Agron’s_ injured man.


	5. And You'll Be My Local Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir and Agron must deal with the aftermath of Chris's intrusion of their wonderful night's sleep. What will Agron do with the rage bubbling inside of him? What will Nasir do when Naevia and Mira show up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to a special someone for being the muse of this chapter! =D You will certainly know who you are <3
> 
> Darker sides to both men show in this one, it seems, so enjoy the hot and fiery boys!

Agron had left almost as soon as the doctor had come in to the room. Nasir didn’t even get the chance to stop him from leaving- to thank him for being there to stop Chris from pounding his skull in to the floor. He didn’t get a chance to thank Agron for the best night’s sleep he’d had in two weeks. He wanted to apologize, as well, for Julian’s brother bursting in to the room and ruining the sleep that the two were getting. That had been an utterly horrible way to wake up.

Nasir had been so content while he was sleeping. He’d been warm and comfortable, and he’d felt so completely safe with Agron’s arms around so securely around him. But, like everything else, Nasir had ruined that by simply _being_. He couldn’t seem to do anything right, including take comfort from a friend.

Agron hadn’t returned since he left while the doctor was checking Nasir’s wound out. Luckily, only one of the outer staples had ripped slightly. The blood made it seem a lot worse; the doctor said it was like getting a paper cut that bled like crazy, making it seem a lot worse. Nasir wasn’t so sure that he liked the doctor’s nonchalance, but he was glad that Agron had stepped out and hadn’t heard the doctor’s lack of concern or bedside manner. He knew Agron was already livid, so hearing the doctor brush this off wouldn’t have made the situation any better.

As he waited for Agron to return, Nasir flipped inattentively through the channels on the television. He couldn’t get Chris’s words out of his head. He had been right, in a way. Nasir wasn’t acting like a grieving boyfriend, was he? He was holding everything inside and pushing people away and trying to just forget about it all. He couldn’t forget, of course, but that didn’t stop him from trying. That didn’t stop him from feeling the overwhelming guilt when he _couldn’t_ push the thoughts from his mind. Guilt that was now doubled due to the fact that he had allowed himself to feel something again, something other than guilt or self loathing. 

He’d felt safe and warm, accepting the comfort that Agron had offered so diligently. He’d felt like he’d finally, after years and years of being on his own with no family except Julian, come home; and that thought alone caused more guilt that he could have imagined. He’d wanted to stay asleep and wrapped up in Agron, letting the world fade away in to nothing but the two of them. Yet, reality came crashing in as soon as Nasir had been ripped from Agron’s arms and thrown on the hard floor.

Nasir couldn’t blame Chris for acting the way he did. If he had been in Chris’s shoes, Nasir would have shown his ass just as much, or probably more. Chris had every right to be gnashing-your-teeth angry at him; Nasir was angry at himself; but he couldn’t help but feel horrible for Agron having to step in, or feeling the need to step in. Nasir also felt horrible because seeing Agron stand up for him made his stomach fill with the fluttering of butterflies (something that shouldn’t have been happening in the current situation Nasir was in). It was too soon to be feeling things like that, too soon to be showing any inclination towards anyone else except the grief for his departed boyfriend.

Nasir was pulled from his dreary thoughts by the door to his room opening. He sat up a bit, a hand moving to grasp his side, and looked hopefully towards the door. His expression faltered slightly when he noticed that the visitors were Naevia and Mira. Forcing a tight smile, Nasir nodded at them, “Hey girls.”

“Nasir!” Naevia moved past Mira, who was holding a small cardboard box of take out, and literally bounced over to Nasir. She sat carefully on the edge of his bed and engulfed him in a warm hug, “I’m so sorry it’s taken me a while to come back to see you. Things at work are so crazy. I’ve taken over your work load, halfing it with Mira, so that you can focus on getting the rest that you need to heal up properly.”

Nasir returned Naevia’s warm hug with one arm, his other hand still clutching at his side a bit from moving. His smile turned more genuine once the girls settled down and started telling him, immediately, the latest gossip in the office. Nasir even found himself chuckling occasionally. He refrained from outright laughing because that actually hurt, but the girls didn’t seem to mind so long as he was participating in the conversation.

Mira pulled out the take out, wheeling Nasir’s little table over to the bed so that it covered his lap. She set the food down on the table and spread out the options like a little buffet for the three of them to enjoy. “I hope Chinese is okay,” she muttered with a small embarrassed laugh. “I was in such a hurry to get here that I almost forgot to pick something up.”

“No, this is fine,” Nasir told her, reaching out to still her hands as she fidgeted with the food on the table. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he wasn’t entirely hungry.

Mira smiled warmly at him, moving around the bed to sit on the opposite edge as Naevia. Both girls twisted to face Nasir, scooting closer to the table so that they could all enjoy the array of Chinese spread across it. And as Naevia dished the three of them equal parts of the food on to small Styrofoam plates, Mira was busy handing the other two pairs of chop sticks. Mira grinned a bit, “You’re looking more rested than yesterday.”

Nasir felt his cheeks flush a bit, but he just nodded at Mira, giving her his tiny, ‘I’m-not telling-you-anything’ smile. “I slept well last night, that’s all.”

Naevia let out a laugh, picking up a piece of broccoli with her chopsticks. “I’m glad to hear it, Nasir, but you’re still very pale. Have the doctors said anything else about how you’re healing up?”

Nasir looked down at the food, giving Naevia an uncommitted grunt and a shrug, “Says I’m healing just fine.”

Nasir fell silent as the girls shifted in to more gossip from the office. He wanted to tell them about the events of the morning/early afternoon, but he didn’t want to upset them. He knew that both of them had a fierce motherly streak in them, just waiting for the opportunity to rear its head and start taking care of business. He didn’t quite feel up for it.

Nasir was busy making it seem like he was eating more than he was, asking questions and distracting the girls from noticing that he was simply just pushing his food around, when the door to the room opened again. Nasir’s head snapped around to see Agron standing in the doorway. He hadn’t realized how tense he was until he saw Agron and felt his body immediately relax.

Agron stepped in to the room, kicking the door gently closed behind him, his eyes focused on Nasir. He moved over as Nasir shifted a little bit, making room for Agron to sit next to him, facing the girls, on the bed. Agron offered him a faint smile and sat down, his arm moving around to rest on Nasir’s pillow for comfort (and so that neither of them would somehow fall off of the bed).

Nasir could see that Agron was still reeling from his temper, but he didn’t want to ask him if he was okay, considering the girls were sitting right there. Unfortunately for him, Mira was very observant of Agron’s moods and expressions. “Who peed in your cheerios?” She asked, her eyebrows arching up.

Nasir’s body tensed next to Agron, and he knew that Agron could feel it because his right side was pressed against Agron’s left side nearly completely flush together. “Ask him,” Agron nodded his head towards Nasir, turning his green eyes expectantly to Nasir.

Two sets of dark eyes joined Agron’s green ones, gazing at Nasir for an explaination. Nasir let out a heavy sigh, wishing that the bed would just swallow him up and he could disappear. Agron looked over at him expectanly for a moment, waiting for Nasir to start speaking.

“Julian’s brother came by this morning,” Nasir started, glancing quickly at Agron before looking down at the food. “He.. uh.. Well… Last night I sort of had a little break down of sorts, and Agron was here to comfort me and all of that, and well, Chris decided to yank me out of bed and then punch me for ‘ _shacking up_ ’ with someone else so soon after Julian’s…” Nasir couldn’t say death. That seemed to cold… too real.

Nasir could practically hear the girls’ jaws hit the floor. Naevia was the first to speak, her fingers gripping the edge of the little table as she leaned forward slightly. “Where is he?” She asked, obviously infuriated, “I swear to the gods I will kick him so hard that he’ll never even _think_ about having kids!”

Nasir let out a sigh, “Naevia, you don’t have to do that-“

“No!” Mira spoke this time, “ that is completely unacceptable, Nasir! He can’t just come barging in here and accuse you of shacking up! You’re injured, and you’re grieving, and Agron was just being a friend. Right?” She turned her eyes pointedly at Agron, and Nasir got the distinct feeling that he was missing something.

“I handled it just fine,” Agron pointed out, taking the chopsticks that Nasir offered him and sliding Nasir’s plate towards his side of the table. He looked over at Mira, shrugging his shoulders half heartedly as he leaned forward slightly and started to use Nasir’s chopsticks to eat the food off of Nasir’s plate. The entirety of that little scene seemed so comfortable, as if Nasir and Agron had been doing such things all of their lives. It was like the two of them were seriously complementary halves.

Nasir felt Agron’s arm press against his back as he leaned forward to eat. The butterflies swarmed through his stomach again, but he fought the blush trying to sneak upon his cheeks. Nasir noticed the knowing look flash behind Mira’s eyes as she watched the two of them for a moment. She let out a breath and frown, folding her arms, “I hope you fucking broke something.” She muttered, her mood obviously shot to hell from this news.

“I broke his nose,” Agron offered, speaking with a full mouth as if that _wasn’t_ completely barbaric. He obviously didn’t care that he showed very little table manners at the moment, and in his defense, they really weren’t _at_ a real table.

Mira’s eyes widened as she looked at him. After a moment, a smug look crossed her face, “That’s my boy.”

Naevia shook her head, still in a stunned, pissed off silence. When she spoke, her voice shook faintly, “Where did he go?” She asked, her eyes blaring right in to Agron as he continued to munch down on Nasir’s Chinese food.

Agron shrugged a bit, “I don’t know. I shoved his ass out of the room and then went to check on Nasir. Not to mention I suffer from rage blackouts. I can’t be accountable for my actions beyond seeing red.”

Nasir felt his stomach flip at the idea of Agron being thrown in to a rage blackout on his account. It was equally terrifying and exhilarating. He glanced over at Agron, the man chewing roughly on a mouth full of food as he looked at Naevia with guarded green eyes. He was so incredibly… multidimensional. Nasir had no idea that Agron had that violent angry side- sure, he was a professional fighter, but that could have all been details. Nasir had seen a glimpse of Agron’s temper, and yet he knew just how gentle the larger man could be. How loving. He’d risked his own sanity by staying in the hospital with Nasir, even when Nasir was shit for company. He’d comforted Nasir when he’d just been screaming at him to go away.

“Agron! You didn’t make sure the douchtwat was gone?!” Mira looked at Agron with a completely gobsmacked expression, her eyebrows up at her hairline, it seemed.

“I was a little preoccupied making sure Nasir wasn’t bleeding all over the place, Mira,” Agron’s expression darkened just a bit. No one would have noticed had they not been studying him as Nasir had been, and probably Mira since she was gaping at him. Nasir’s chest tightened a bit at the subtle change.

“It’s okay, guys,” Nasir tried to interject, but Mira didn’t let him.

“Agron! What if he had come back while you were gone?! Nasir was all alone in here when we got here. Chris could have come back and done way more damage!”

Naevia nodded, adding her two cents in, “He can barely sit up by himself, and you just left him knowing that Chris was upset with him?”

“Guys,” Nasir tried again.

“Look! It wasn’t a big deal! The shit head probably thought that I was still here. He probably won’t come back or he’ll suffer more broken bones!” Agron’s voice was tight as he spoke, his jaw clenching a bit.

 

“GUYS!” Nasir raised his voice, startling the other three in to silence. 

Nasir’s breathing kicked up a notch, his hand moving to his side. “Seriously! Chill the fuck out!” Of course, Nasir was getting worked up from this subject, “I don’t want to think about it. I’m fucking sick of getting worked up about it.”

All three of them stared at him. None of them had really heard Nasir speak in such a vulgar way. He was usually rather collected with his temper and vocabulary, but he did have his moments of running wild and letting his temper flare past a look in his eyes. He occasionally had slip ups to show the defiant side that resided within him.

Agron tightened his arm around Nasir’s shoulders, his thumb tracing with ease over his shoulder, “Nasir…” 

“No.” Nasir let out a breath, “look. Can you guys just head out? I’m aching and I just want to try and get some sleep.” 

Nasir felt a little like shit seeing the look on Agron’s face. After a moment, Agron nodded infinitesimally before he pulled his arm from around Nasir’s shoulders. He glanced at Mira and Naevia and nodded his head towards the door as he stood up, “C’mon, let’s let him rest for a while.” He gathered up the rest of the Chinese food and tossed it in to the cardboard box, picking it up to carry it out.

“Get some rest,” Mira muttered, standing to lean forward and press a kiss to Nasir’s forehead.

Naevia stood as well, placing a kiss to Nasir’s cheek before she turned and followed Agron and Mira from the room. She closed the door behind her, leaving Nasir to feel like complete and utter shit. He knew they only wanted to help and were worried about him, but in all honesty, Nasir was tired of being fussed over.

+++

Agron glanced back at Mira and Naevia once the door was closed. His jaw was set in a hard line as he shook his head faintly. “You couldn’t just let it go, could you?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowing together faintly. He shoved the box of discarded food towards Mira and turned to stalk down the hallway.

Agron made his way out of the hospital, his fists balling up. How could Naevia and Mira just keep egging it on like that? Nasir was obviously distressed about it by the way he had told them what had happened, and then those two had to just blow it all out of proportions! Unbelievable! How could they have been so clueless as to how Nasir was feeling about all of this?

Agron needed to hit something, and he needed to hit something _bad_. He’d reigned in his temper pretty well before, but now? Now he just wanted to break his knuckles on a brick wall or something. Or perhaps on Chris’s face; he was still so godamn angry about what Chris had done to Nasir. Most of all, he was angry that Chris had made Nasir feel worse about himself; Agron wasn’t an idiot. He knew Nasir was internalizing all of what Chris said and rolling over and over it until he made himself sick. He hadn’t eaten much from what Agron could see from his plate (and from what he promptly finished for him). He was so obviously worked up about this.

Opportunity reared its devious little head when Agron stepped out of the hospital. He spotted a head full of shaggy blonde hair that was distinctly familiar from when he was woken up so rudely this morning. Chris. Fucking-Douchebag-Chris. Agron’s fists just itched with the ample opportunity at hand.

Chris was heading towards the hospital. He had a butterfly bandage over his nose, his eyes already darkening from the bruises of a broken nose. Agron’s subconscious snarled smugly at the sight. The possessive and protective part of Agron’s brain was doing something completely different, though. It saw Chris walking towards the hospital with this concentrated look on his face, and it knew that he was headed back to Nasir’s room.

Agron bared his teeth a bit as his body kicked in to motion. He was over to Chris before he could realize what was happening, his fists balling up in the front of the guy’s shirt as he nearly growled in his face, “What the fuck are you doing back here?! Didn’t I tell you not to come back?”

“No,” Chris shook his head, speaking defiantly, which showed Agron just how much sense this idiot lacked. “You said to get out of there, not to come back. I-I was coming back to apologize-“

“Don’t fucking come back!” Agron started moving, shoving Chris by the front of his shirt and nearly lifting him off of the ground as he walked the both of them away from the hospital. He turned, then, down an alley in to a secluded area. “You made him feel like shit with what you said!”

Agron was beyond angry. He was seeing all sorts of shades of red at the moment, but he wasn’t too concerned about that. He could kill this bastard and probably not think twice about it. He’d hurt Nasir. He’d inadvertently wronged Agron by doing such a thing- how was this guy supposed to know that he was pissing off a professional fighter by accusing Nasir of things or punching him? There’s no way that he could have, but he had done it.

Chris moved his hands, shoving at Agron’s chest. “Get off of me, mate!” His eyes were wide, as if he knew what was coming. He knew the hurting that Agron was about to bestow on to him.

“You’ll rethink ever trying to make contact with Nasir again,” Agron spat at him, shoving Chris so hard that the smaller man slammed back against the wall of the building with a dull _thud_. “You’ll rethink _ever_ laying a fucking finger on him.”

“I came to apologi-“ Agron cut Chris off, his fist slamming forcefully in to Chris’s mouth. The smaller man’s head snapped back against the brick wall with a faint _crack_ but Agron took no notice.

“No! He doesn’t need your apologies,” Agron swung his fists out with determination, punching Chris in all of the places that would cause the most pain on his torso. “What he needs is for you to back the fuck off and leave him alone! He needs to grieve your brother’s death! Your brother who nearly got him killed by over reacting and driving right through a fucking traffic light!” Agron slammed his fists against Chris’s face now, holding the man up with his free hand each time.

By the time Chris was slouching against the wall, only held up by Agron’s hands, Agron was breathing hard from beating the shit out of this fucker. He lifted a hand and swiped at his nose, unconscious of the blood he smeared across his face. His eyebrow cocked up as Chris weakly lifted his head to look at Agron with pleading blue eyes. 

“You deserved this,” Agron told him, his expression and tone very dangerous, “you deserved everything that just happened, and if you go to the cops, I’ll fucking find you. You got it?” It wasn’t like the guy knew who he was, anyway, but Agron still had to get his point across, right? “You go to the cops and I’ll make the next meeting we have a lot more painful, you got it?”

Chris nodded weakly again, making Agron scoff out an insult before he reared back and punched Chris as hard as he could. He felt Chris’s body go limp against his, so he stepped back and let the fucker fall to the ground in a bloody heap. Agron dusted his hands down the thighs of his jeans and sniffed. He jabbed Chris’s body with the toe of his shoe, satisfied that he was out cold, before he turned and walked out of the alley as if he hadn’t just beat a man unconscious.

At least the fucker would _know_ not to fuck with my man again, Agron thought, a smug smile curving his lips as he walked down sidewalk, headed home for a nice long slower to wash the schmuck off of him.


	6. You Wrap Me In Your Arms, and I'm Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron goes back to the hospital after beating the hell out of Chris, hoping Nasir isn't angry.
> 
> Again, the two wake up to unexpected visitors!

Chapter Six: You Put Your Arms Around Me and I’m Home

 

Agron made his way back to the hospital. He’d gone home promptly after beating the hell out of Chris. He knew it was likely that Chris would be admitted to the hospital for his injuries, and Agron wasn’t going to leave Nasir alone to find out if Chris would have more words. So, he’d showered with as much speed as he could (that shower had felt Ah-Mazing, and in reality, lasted a lot longer than he realized) and did his best to clean the wounds on his knuckles to the point where they were the least bit noticeable. 

As he was headed out of the apartment, Agron heard the muffled tone of _Superbeast_ sounding through the fabric of his jeans pocket. He fished the phone from his pocket and hissed as his knuckles tugged across the denim of his pocket. Letting out a curse as he answered the phone without looking at the screen to see who it was, Agron paused by the door, “hello?” He waited for an answer as he went through a mental checklist to see if he’d gotten all he needed from his apartment.

“Brother!” Duro’s voice rang through Agron’s skull, bringing him back from his mental list.

Agron couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face at his brother’s voice. “Hey, what’s up?” He asked, checking his watch for the time. He’d left the hospital about about four in the afternoon. He’d taken his time meandering around his apartment before showering to give Nasir as much time as he could to calm down. “Why’re you calling so late? I thought responsible fathers went to bed early?” Agron teased, a smile crooking his lips. It was only about eight o’clock.

“No. That’s _grand_ fathers,” Duro didn’t miss a beat, “I was just calling to see how your boyfriend’s doing.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Agron countered before shrugging it off; he wouldn’t mind if that was the truth, after all. “Nasirs’s doing okay. I’m pretty sure he’s going a bit stir crazy, though, but I can’t blame him. Second day in a hospital bed would have me going mad.”

“Yeah, well, you two are different people. Nasir’s obviously the better man.”

“Oh, hah, fuck you, brother.” Agron grinned, though. Duro was probably right.

“You know I’m right! Anyway, Michelle made him some baked goods. You know how she is. Thinks sweets solve everything- Except Alec’s energy problem…Which I still manage to blame on you.”

“Oh! Thanks, Duro, you filthy bastard,” Agron chuckled. Eh, he’d take the blame for Alec being completely awesome. “If you’re gonna be up for a while, I’ll stop by on my way back to the hospital and pick the sweets up.”

“Yeah, I’ll wait up, but don’t take too long. Chelle’s been talking about a little girl and practice makes perfect, if you know what I mean.”

“Ew, yeah, Duro, I get it.” Agron’s nose wrinkled, but he still couldn’t help the smile. “I’ll be there in a few.”

Agron didn’t bother saying goodbye before he hung up the phone. Sliding it back in to his pocket, Agron made sure he had his wallet and keys before he headed out of his apartment. He locked the door behind him and turned to take the stairs two at a time to get to the bottom. Once outside the apartment building, Agron slid behind the wheel of his ’69 Camaro.

+++

Agron and Duro had ended up talking, while drinking a couple beers, before Agron could head towards the hospital. Duro seemed excited about the prospect of a daughter; Agron knew he’d be a goner as soon as he held that little girl. She’d have her daddy (and uncle) wrapped around her tiny little finger from day one. Agron also couldn’t be happier for his brother, despite how annoyed he got when Duro made jokes about his “perfect” boyfriend. Cheeky bastard.

Agron carried the little plastic container of cookies towards Nasir’s room. He knew he probably had a pretty ridiculous grin on his face, but he didn’t entirely care. He smiled at the nurses on duty and made his way to Nasir’s door. The lights were off, so Agron opened the door quietly, stepping in to the room as silently as his big frame could.

Agron cursed whoever decided it would be a good idea to set a trashcan by the door as soon as his foot connected with it. “Fuck,” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder and looking in to the room. He closed the door and turned around to see Nasir lying on his bed, his back to the door. At least he wasn’t sleeping on his injured side again.

With more caution towards inanimate objects, Agron moved closer to the bed. He set the container of cookies down on the awesome (and entertaining) wheely table before he gently sat on the edge of Nasir’s bed. Nasir had curled up, leaving enough room for another person to lie down, but Agron wasn’t going to make any assumptions that that space was specifically left for him. He couldn’t do that to Nasir, and he certainly couldn’t give himself that false hope in the case that Nasir was simply harboring friendly emotions towards him; but he sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case.

He reached out, his large hand covering Nasir’s hip easily. Agron almost fell off of the bed when Nasir’s body twisted carefully as not to jostle the wound, and a pair of drowsy brown eyes were focused on his face. Nasir’s eyes were crinkled at the corners, the sleepy smile making Agron’s body melt just a bit more than it probably should have. “Are you incapable of being silent?” Nasir asked, his eyebrow twitching up as he regarded Agron with an amused smile.

“I tried,” Agron let out a breath, unable to stop the smile from splitting his face. Nasir wasn’t angry with him at the moment, which he could tell.

“You were gone for a while,” Nasir muttered, and Agron could hear the distinct sounds of sleep on the edges of his voice. He smiled a little more at his little man, reaching out to brush a wayward curl from Nasir’s forehead.

“I thought you needed some time to cool off after this afternoon,” Agron replied, lowering his voice to make it easier for Nasir to slip back to sleep should he feel like it. His fingertips brushed Nasir’s cheek as he pulled his hand away; and Agron couldn’t deny the melting-factor of seeing Nasir turn his face sleepily in to Agron’s touch. “I didn’t want to push you too far,” he added, just above a whisper, “I felt like so much had already happened in such a short time that… well.. you just needed some alone time, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Nasir murmured, tone thick with drowsiness still. Agron watched as his little man blinked rapidly for a second and moved like he was going to sit up, but Agron stilled him by a hand resting on his hip again.

“Don’t,” Agron shook his head, rubbing his hand over Nasir’s narrow hip as he smiled sweetly down at him, “don’t move. You look comfortable. I didn’t mean to wake you, s’just that Duro’s wife, Michelle, made you some cookies. She thinks sweets make everything better, so if they stop by, you’ll have to tell her they made all the difference, okay?”

Nasir let out a soft laugh, the sound music to Agron’s ears. It was a sleepy sound, but still Agron felt his stomach fill with butterflies at the sound. Gods, it was adorable and sexy, and everything. “Alright,” Nasir nodded, resting his tired gaze on Agron again.

“Are you still angry with me?” Agron asked, just for curiosity’s sake. He needed to know if he should stay, after all.

Nasir moved a hand, resting it on top of Agron’s hand on his hip. His thumb moved slowly and gently over Agron’s skin, “No, Agron.” He shook his head, his tongue flitting out to wet his lips a bit before he continued, “I’m not.. I wasn’t angry with _you_. I was just frustrated with the whole situation. My whole life, it seems, is nothing but some frustrated mess.” 

Agron let his green gaze search Nasir’s face as Nasir squeezed his hand in reassurance. He saw nothing but sincerity behind Nasir’s dark eyes. “So long as you’re not mad…” Agron trailed off, still watching Nasir closely.

“I’m not mad. I,” he stopped, cocking his head to the side faintly, “I’m not sure I could possibly stay mad at you, Agron.”

“Really?” Agron asked, his tone holding a bit more disbelief than he would have liked.

“Really,” Nasir nodded, giving Agron that tiny smile of his. Agron loved it more than he could describe. “Everything that you’ve done for me since the accident… Since _before_ the accident; I-…. I just can’t thank you enough. I wish I could.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Nasir,” Agron shook his head, his fingers squeezing Nasir’s narrow hip a tiny bit for emphasis. “You just have to be you, y’know, cause… well…” Agron stopped himself from admitting to his little man that he was completely head over heels for him; that probably wouldn’t end too well, he imagined. “I love being here for you, that’s all.”

Nasir’s eyebrows pulled together a bit, placing the most adorable sleepy-confused look on his face, making Agron’s chest tighten again. He nodded faintly at Nasir, trying not to bite his lip in nervousness. What if that had startled the little man away from their friendship? What if Agron had just messed up? Agron’s body visibly relaxed when Nasir spoke again, though, “I love you being here for me, too.”

Nasir moved Agron’s hand, making Agron momentarily think he was pushing it away before he linked their fingers and rolled his body again. He put his back to Agron again, pulling Agron’s hand and arm up around him carefully so he didn’t brush against the wound on his side. Agron had to lean forward to make it easier for his little man to essentially pull him closer. That gesture alone sent warmth spreading through Agron’s body. It wasn’t desire, Agron knew that, but it was something else. Something he could only describe as an overwhelming sense of love.

As Nasir cradled their hands to his chest, Agron watched him for a moment. He took in the dark halo of curls around Nasir’s head. He noticed the fullness and length of those dark eyelashes as they lay against tanned cheekbone. He noticed a tiny scar around the corner of Nasir’s mouth and wondered briefly how he’d gotten it. He noticed the fullness of Nasir’s mouth, lips just made for ravishing. All in all, Agron noticed, for the millionth time, the outstanding beauty that was Nasir. He was small in stature, but he was fit and well toned with muscles that complimented his body perfectly. His skin was beautifully tanned and smooth to the touch; he would know, he just brushed his fingers across Nasir’s cheek. The man was just exquisite.

Nasir tugged on Agron’s arm a bit, making Agron chuckle. He carefully shifted so that he didn’t hurt Nasir, and he managed to curl up behind Nasir, his arm securely around his little man. Agron moved his other arm, carefully sliding it under Nasir’s pillow so that his hand could move and his fingers could brush through Nasir’s silky curls to further relax his little man.

Nasir let out a sleepy hum of approval as Agron brushed his fingers through his hair, his fingers lightly scratching at Nasir’s scalp occasionally. Agron leaned his head forward, pressing a light kiss to the back of Nasir’s head before he settled down and continued to play with Nasir’s hair. It didn’t take long for his heart to still in front of him, his breathing becoming deeper and more even indicating that he was asleep again. Gods, Agron was so fucked it wasn’t even funny. He was chortling about being wrapped around a baby girl’s finger, and yet here he was, completely wrapped around Nasir’s; and his little man didn’t even know it.

+++

Nasir was warm again. He was engulfed in overwhelming warmth that made his skin feel like it was on fire. The light hit his eyes from the window and he turned his face in to the pillow. Only, what his face pressed into wasn’t the pillow; it was actually Agron’s hair. He realized this by hairs tickling his face. He let out a muffled groan and opened his eyes faintly. 

He could see Agron’s hair, and he realized that he was lying on his back. Agron was carefully sprawled halfway on top of him. His head was on Nasir’s left peck. His arm was wrapped securely around him, and even his leg was pushed between Nasir’s, his leg wrapped around Nasir’s loosely. He was tangled up in Agron, and it was a heady sensation, just like that bear hug had been. 

As Nasir pressed his face in to Agron’s hair, filling his nostrils with the smell of him, Nasir heard a faint giggle from the corner. His eyes shot open, his head lifting faintly from his pillow to see where the giggle came from. Nasir almost groaned again when he noticed Saxa and Gannicus sitting in the chair Agron normally occupied. Saxa was sitting in Gannicus’s lap, pointing a finger at him as she clutched his jaw in her other hand. Apparently he had been the cause of the giggle.

“Um… hi?” Nasir mumbled, moving a hand to shake Agron a bit to wake him up.

“Hey,” Saxa turned her attention to Nasir, a surprisingly warm smile washing over her face. She slid off of Gannicus’s lap and moved over. She placed a hand lightly on Nasir’s bicep, her touch cool compared to his skin’s overheated feeling. She reached out with her other hand to tug roughly on Agron’s hair, making the larger man groan grumpily and turn his face in to Nasir’s chest.

Nasir chuckled softly, moving a hand to shake Agron again, “wake up, grumpy, we’ve got some… unexpected visitors.” Nasir’s voice was raspy with sleep and thirst, but it was hopeless to attempt to move while Agron was wrapped around him so strongly.

Agron let out another grumpy noise of disapproval before he rolled off of Nasir. Feeling the cool air hit him, Nasir let out a breath and braced himself on Agron’s shoulder to push himself up in to a sitting position. Standing up from the bed, Nasir excused himself and walked in to the little bathroom in his room, happy that it was there so he could freshen up a bit. Nasir took his time, splashing his face with water, taming his wild curls, and brushing his teeth. He wished he could take a real shower, but the doctors were waiting until he healed a bit more until he could do that.

+++

Agron was grumpy. He had been sleeping so godamn well, and then he’d been rudely woken up by his cousin pulling his hair. He sat on Nasir’s bed, pretty much pouting as Saxa laughed at him. He held up his middle finger at her, instantly putting it away when the bathroom door opened and Nasir stepped back out.

He gave his little man a bright dimpled grin and made room for him on the bed again. Once Nasir was sitting comfortable, Agron draped his arm over Nasir’s shoulders and handed him a cup of water, which Nasir quickly drank back with a tiny, thankful smile. “Morning,” he muttered to everyone, and Agron’s grin only grew.

“Morning,” Agron replied, turning his head to see Saxa and Gannicus watching them with pretty transparent expression. “What?”

“You two,” Saxa pointed a finger, waving it between the two of them, “are totally in sync.”

“Saxa’s right,” Gannicus nodded, his hands moving to rest on Saxa’s hips as she perched on his lap again. “You move nearly as one.”

Agron glanced at Nasir, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression. “We do not,” Agron countered, shaking his head as he looked back at Gannicus and Saxa.

“Right, and that instant shared look at the exact same moment says nothing for your argument,” Saxa grinned, reclining back against Gannicus lazily. Agron had to admit that she looked pretty fucking comfortable. Lucky bitch.

“You’re crazy,” Agron chuckled out, trying to get off of the subject, “Oh, hey, Michelle made cookies!” His face split with a wide boyish grin as he removed his arm from around Nasir and got up to get the container of cookies that he’d picked up the night before.

He opened the container and held it out for Nasir. He took a couple cookies, setting one on his leg while he took a bite out of the other, muttering a “Thanks” as Agron offered the container to Saxa and Gannicus. Saxa reached out and took a few, literally shoving one in to Gannicus’s mouth before taking a bite out of her own, holding one hostage.

Agron sat back, wrapping his arm around Nasir’s shoulders again. He was faintly aware of Nasir’s movement to accommodate his movements, but he decided not to comment on it. Saxa could _not_ be right. He took a begrudging bite of his cookie, suddenly apologetic to the inanimate food item for how viciously he bit in to it. “So, what are you two doing here?”

“We came for cookies,” Saxa replied as if that was the most obvious answer. She said it so nonchalantly that Agron glanced over at her, his eyebrows arching up faintly. “No, shithead, we came to see how Nasir was doing.” Saxa added with a roll of her eyes.

“Imagine our surprise to come in and find the little man so well off,” Gannicus smirked as he bit in to his cookie, eyes dancing as they took in Nasir and Agron on the hospital bed.

“What?” Agron asked, only to get an elbow in the side.

“He means that they came in to find you wrapped around me,” Nasir told him, his voice low, “therefore, I was pretty well off in their eyes.” Nasir took small bites of his cookie, making Agron think that he wanted to savor the flavor or something. Or he was just being coy and teasing him with his movements. Probably the former.

“Ooh, right,” Agron grinned broadly, not at all sheepish to what they walked in on.

Saxa and Gannicus looked at them again, knowing expressions shining around the act of eating cookies. “Mhm,” Saxa hummed.

Agron grinned at her, “WHAT!? It’s not like I was humping him in my sleep or anything,” Agron’s eyes suddenly went wide. He held up a hand, as if covering his lips from Nasir would stop him from hearing Agron’s words, “did I?”

Saxa let out a boisterous laugh, shaking her head, “No, cousin, you’re completely safe where humping is concerned. Although, I bet you wish you weren’t.”

Agron shot a glance at Nasir, noticing his cheeks tint red. “Okay,” Agron said, drawing out the word, “new subject. What’s going on at the arena?”

Gannicus spoke up this time, “nothing of import. Fighting, per usual, but I’m sure you knew that already. Your choice of subject change is lacking, my friend.”

Agron gritted his teeth, refraining from growling at Gannicus. “You’re an asshole, fuckwad.”

“Agron,” Nasir muttered, shaking his head as he chuckled against his cookie.

“What? He is. I asked a simple question and he had to go be a smart ass about it.” Agron frowned down at his cookie and shoved it in to his mouth unceremoniously. Then, he carried on speaking around the cookie, “I mean, forreal, do you ever take anything seriously?”

Saxa chuckled as Gannicus rolled his eyes, “yes, I do. It happens to be sitting in my lap, you overgrown man child. Stop pouting and tell us some things.” He eyed Agron for a moment before he continued, “Mira and Naevia tell us that Nasir had an unwanted visitor in here yesterday morning.”

Agron felt his blood run cold. His pouty expression changed instantly, he knew, and by the tensing at his side, he knew Nasir was reacting in a similar way. “This is not subject for conversation, Gannicus.” Suddenly without appetite, Agron shoved the container of cookies away from him, down to the end of the bed.

“It was nothing of import,” Nasir added, shaking his head. “It was settled, and now it’s over. End of discussion.”

Agron watched as Saxa and Gannicus mulled on their words. It took them a moment before they nodded and finished their cookies. “Well, on that note,” Saxa stood up, tugging on Gannicus’s collar to get him up as well, “We’ve got some training to do. It was nice to see you again, Nasir, and we’re glad that you’re healing up well.”

Nasir nodded, mumbling a small, “thanks for coming,” that Agron suspected was just a mechanical response. A part of him knew that Nasir was, once again, lost in his own thoughts. Fucking Gannicus. Fucking Saxa. Fucking hell!

Saxa leaned over to give Agron a rough hug before she patted Nasir on top of the head. She then stole a few more cookies from the container and tugged Gannicus towards the door. “Oh,” she said as she got to the door, “Agron, your phone went off a little while ago, you might want to check it.” She sent him a wink before she and Gannicus left the room, the door closing soundly behind them.

Agron turned to Nasir, an apology on his lips, but Nasir held up a hand to silence him. “It’s alright,” he assured Agron, making Agron visibly relax. He rested a hand on Agron’s thigh, an innocent gesture that had Agron’s blood turning hot once again.

As if remembering what Saxa had _just_ said, Agron shifted faintly, searching through his pocket to find his phone. He pulled it out and realized the message was from Saxa. He was confused until he opened the message; he instantly turned the phone away from Nasir.

“What is it?” Nasir asked, craning his neck as if he was trying to see the phone.

“Nothing, a text.” Agron replied, a shit eating grin spreading over his face.

Nasir watched him for a moment before he shrugged and moved to pour himself some water. Agron looked at him for a minute before he looked back at the phone in his hand. Saxa had, apparently, taken a picture of the two of them sleeping when she came in. Agron quickly saved the image of himself wrapped around his little man, planning to set it as his background as soon as it was appropriate.


	7. I Wont Give Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir finally gets out of the hospital! Agron is really really excited! Cue adorableness with Duro and the kid. Also, cue some information that just slips out unintentionally. Oops, Duro!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one! So, for more notes (specifically on why I've taken so long to add another chapter) look at the bottom! It's a bit of a rant, but it explains why it's taken me a million years to add more to this wonderful (or, supposedly wonderful) story! I hope you guys enjoy it---
> 
> AND APOLOGIES... I know I said that I wouldn't do it, but Duro is sort of a blabbermouth and stoopid and now the shit has hit the fan! 
> 
> So So so sorry
> 
> Dont hate me! =S

With two more weeks passing, Nasir’s mind grew lighter; the weights from his troubled thoughts and emotions began to lighten up as he spent more time around the group of friends he found himself in. The group couples would split the days that they would bring dinner up to the hospital. Nasir couldn’t help but get the feeling that it was almost _date_ -like when the couples would bring dinner. They’d sometimes walk down to the cafeteria for such a meal. Other times they would just pile on to Nasir’s bed and use the wheely table to hold the food. It wasn’t at all as awkward or as pushy as Nasir would have thought. Even when the others had this look on their face like they knew something that Nasir didn’t.

But maybe Nasir did actually know what they knew. They’d look at him and Agron with this completely ecstatic expression, like they finally see Agron as happy as he deserves to be, or like they’ve never seen something so much like home. Nasir, deep down, knew that is why they always had that look when watching the two of them together. Nasir knew that he and Agron had become in sync, like Gannicus and Saxa had said. He knew that when Agron moved, Nasir moved to counter the movement he’d just made. He knew that Agron did the same thing, always cautious not to somehow reopen Nasir’s healing wound. He knew that he only had a good night’s sleep when Agron’s large body was curled around him like he was some sort of body pillow, completely snuggling against Nasir as if he was a small child in need of constant contact and loving embrace. Of course, Nasir wasn’t too opposed to sleeping in such a manner. Sometimes he would wake up and find that _he_ was the one wrapped around Agron. 

As the days passed, Nasir’s wound began to give him less trouble where moving was concerned. He was able to move more freely without the instant tearing sensation at his side or, somehow, along his insides. He knew the extent of his wound, sure, the doctors had told him repeatedly that the reason he was still hospitalized was because the large piece of glass that had embedded in his side had ripped and tore through his organs and muscles; the doctors were worried that if he was out on his own that he would somehow manage to tear the internal mending that they had managed to sew his body back together with. At first, Nasir hadn’t known the extent of his injuries; and being in the hospital without the permission or ability to move was driving him up the wall. The doctors (and Agron) had to sit him down and drill the information in to his skull so that he would listen and keep himself from inevitably causing disaster upon his body.

By this point in time, though, Nasir was incredibly ready to get the hell out of dodge; meaning, he wanted to forget about all the shit in the hospital that he’d had brought in and just run for the hills. He wanted to sleep in his own bed. He wanted to shower in his own bathroom with his preferred shower settings. He wanted to eat what he wanted and indulge in meals that the hospital looked down on (even though they still allowed Nasir’s friends to bring him outside food by means of keeping Nasir from losing his collective shit and hurting himself or someone else). He wanted to have a little privacy with Agron and his friends and everyone without the constant interruption that was hospital personnel. But above all? Nasir simply wanted to be free of the hospital and the restraints and stigmas that came with being hospitalized. He wanted freedom.

Nasir constantly tried to get Agron to leave the hospital. He thought it ridiculous (however much he really loved how Agron refused to leave him alone in the creepy place) that Agron spent all his free time with Nasir in the dingy (now seen as dingy) hospital room. He knew Agron’s energy levels, and despite the fact that Agron had recently started going back to the arena to train in the lower level’s gym, the man needed to spend that energy and not waste it by sitting on the edge of Nasir’s bed and watching bad television with Nasir. Of course, Nasir was equally frustrated with how Agron refused to take his concerns to heart too much, only coming back after “taking a break” and going to “expel some energy”. Nasir knew that Agron was a smart ass, but he was really at the point where he wanted to smack the adorable oaf and tell him to go do something productive.

Although, he was pretty sure that Agron would just say that sitting next to Nasir was productively budding their friendship (aka relationship), or something equally as charming.

Even as another week passed, with Nasir trying to spare Agron the troubles of being locked in a hospital room in vain, Nasir was finally told that he could leave the hospital. He was being released and Nasir could practically feel the previously-forcefully-dormant energy bubbling up inside of him. Agron seemed exceptionally happy about it too once Nasir told him the good news.

“When do you get to go?” Agron asked, sitting on the edge of Nasir’s bed, his leg jingling up and down erratically.

Nasir couldn’t help the smirkish smile that curved his lips as he watched Agron practically reign in his explosive excitement, “Tomorrow? I dunno, maybe tonight if you can sweet talk my doctors good enough.” Of course, Nasir was kidding, but the next thing that he knew, Agron was off of the bed and bounding for the door, wrenching it open and slipping out of the room with clear intent. Nasir let out a small laugh, shaking his head as he rested it back against the pillow, just waiting for Agron to bounce back in to the room and exclaim that he’d beaten the system and Nasir could go home now.

++++

Once Agron had promptly sweet talked the hell out of Nasir’s doctors, Nasir and Agron were making their way out of the hospital room. Agron had attempted to grab all of Nasir’s things, but Nasir had insisted that he didn’t care about it all. Agron had frowned and grabbed as much as he could carry (mainly some of the gifts that he and their friends and brought the little man during his stay). The hospital had this thing where patients leaving had to be escorted to their ride by means of wheelchair, which Agron had to stop himself from falling in to a fit of inappropriate giggles as Nasir nearly had a hissy fit over it.

They made it to the Camaro without someone losing a limb (Nasir wasn’t a happy camper), and Agron threw all of the crap in his arms in to the back seat before he “helped” Nasir in to the car as the orderly eyed them with hawk eyes. Agron made his way around the car to the driver’s side once Nasir was settled and buckled in, still trying his best not to break in to hysterical laughter.

As they were driving down the road, Agron glanced over at Nasir, a small smile dimpling his cheeks. He could tell that Nasir was still pretty irritated by being subjected to the damn wheelchair, but Agron couldn’t help but think how unbelievably adorable his little man was. He was so happy that Nasir was finally free from the confines of the hospital room (and part of him was also glad that he didn’t have to spend another day in there while his nerves were on end; Agron wasn’t too fond of hospitals since his parents’ accident years ago, but he made an exception for his little man, because, honestly).

Agron turned his attention back to the road when Nasir’s head snapped up and his dark eyes landed on Agron. Apparently he might have swerved a little bit. Oops? He let out a chuckle, giving Nasir a sheepish little smile as he attempted to keep his attention back on the road. It wasn’t his fault that Nasir was just _that_ damn distracting, was it? No, of course not.

“Agron, where are we going?” Nasir asked after a little while longer, apparently noticing that Agron wasn’t headed to his apartment.

Agron turned his attention to Nasir for a moment before he looked back at the road. He rested his wrist on the steering wheel and moved his other to rest it gently on Nasir’s knee, “We’re going to stop by Duro and Michelle’s for dinner. I figure you could use a nice home cooked meal- that we don’t have to cook- and also, Michelle said she’d castrate me if I didn’t bring you around as soon as you got out of the hospital.” Agron sent him an apologetic look; full on with puppy dog eyes.

Nasir let out a breath, moving his hand to rest it on top of Agron’s on his knee. Agron was pretty sure it was an absent minded movement. “That’s alright. I’d like to meet your family. I just wish that I wasn’t still all…y’know, hospital-like and stuff.”

Agron looked over at him, not at all thinking that Nasir looked horrible. He frowned a bit, “Do you want to make a stop at my apartment and clean up?” He asked, his eyebrows pulling together.

Nasir looked over at him again, that fucking irresistible tiny smile making Agron’s stomach somersault around in his abdomen, “Um.. I don’t entirely want to be a bother-.”

“We’ll make a pit stop,” Agron concluded, switching directions almost immediately (and safely, mind you, he wasn’t an idiot and he didn’t just pull some scary ass U-y in the middle of the fucking road) and headed off towards his apartment building. Duro and Michelle would just have to wait because his little man wanted to clean up. And no, Agron was not risking both of their lives by envisioning Nasir in his shower. Naked. Scrubbing down with Agron’s body wash and shampoo. No. He really wasn’t. Not much.

Agron shifted in his seat to get a little bit more comfortable as his jeans tightened around his groin on their own accord. Fuck the gods. He squeezed Nasir’s knee before he pulled his hand back towards his own body, holding on to the steering wheel more securely. He had to stop thinking about Nasir in his shower or he’d have an entirely different problem on his hands; although, he’d much prefer it to be on Nasir’s hands. Agron cleared his throat, shaking his head as if that would rid it of such thoughts.

“Agron? Are you okay?” Nasir asked, and Agron knew that he’d noticed Agron’s sudden weird shifty behavior.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m alright,” he sent Nasir a crooked smile and shifted in his seat a little more. 

Luckily for him, his apartment building wasn’t too much farther. He focused on the road, unintentionally ignoring Nasir for the rest of the ride. He pulled in to his spot and parked the car, shutting the engine off with a small sigh. He watched as Nasir opened the door and climbed out of the car, moving with much more ease that he had been for the past…shit, how long had he been in the hospital again? Agron shook his head, rubbing the heel of his palm over his eye before he turned and grabbed the bag of clothes that he’d brought Nasir from his apartment, and brought with him in turn so that he could wash Nasir’s clothes and keep them fresh and clean for his little man.

Climbing out of the car, Nasir waiting for him patiently, Agron placed a hand on the small of Nasir’s back and lead him in to the building and up to his apartment. Agron fished his apartment key from the ring of keys and unlocked the door, letting Nasir enter the apartment first. Once he stepped in and closed the door he let out a breath.

“I’m sorry for the mess,” Agron muttered, feeling his cheeks flush a little bit, “I..uh… Well, I haven’t been here much to keep up the cleanliness.”

Nasir shook his head, waving a hand absently at Agron, “don’t worry about it. I know you’ve been at the hospital most of this time. It’s not a big deal, Agron, trust me.” He gave Agron that little smile that does silly things to Agron’s stomach.

Agron returned the smile with a large crooked grin. He reached out and took Nasir’s hand, tugging him gently through the apartment towards his bedroom. “The shower’s through there,” he pointed towards his bathroom, letting go of Nasir’s hand. “Your clothes are in this bag. There’s some clean clothes from the last time I washed them for you, so, just… take your time. There’s no rush to get to Duro and Michelle’s.”

Agron set Nasir’s bag down on his bed, complete with misplaced pillows and blankets all screwed up like he’d had them wrapped around his legs at some point. “Everything you’ll need is in there, just, use what you want and make yourself at home. Towel’s are in there, too-.”

“Agron,” Nasir reached out and placed his small hand on Agron’s forearm. “Calm down, I’ll be quick.” He chuckled softly as he squeeze Agron’s forearm before letting go and headed off to bathroom. He closed the door until it was cracked and Agron could hear the shower start a moment later. 

“Holler if you need anything,” Agron called to him before he turned and walked out of his bedroom, lest he sit on his bed and try his damnedest to peek through the crack in the door and try and see Nasir’s beautiful body all naked and wet and lathered—

Agron reached down and shifted himself in his jeans, now _really_ uncomfortable with the tightness. He moved in to his kitchen and opened the fridge. Maybe if he used that instead of a cold shower he’d be completely alright. The arousal will die down before Nasir gets out of the shower and finds him fondling himself in the kitchen. Not that he was fondling himself or anything.

+++

Nasir took a bit longer in the shower than he had originally planned to. The near scorching water just felt so good on his aching muscles; which were only aching because he literally hadn’t done much but lie around for the time span that he had been in the hospital. His body was getting used to moving around more and more, getting back on track with normalcy. He would take the burn of aching muscles over being stuck in that hospital bed any longer, though, that much he knew. So, he simply stood under the water longer than he told Agron he would.

Nasir took the time to carefully wash himself, making sure that he didn’t move too suddenly or in an angle that would kill his side. Agron’s body wash smelled amazing, that much Nasir already knew by catching whiffs of it come off of Agron when he moved in close to him. He loved the way it smelled, especially when mixed with Agron’s on personal scent. It was intoxicating by its own right, and now Nasir would smell partly like him. The thought was enough to make his heart rate spike, the blood making its way south to pool somewhere other than his brain. 

Nasir forced himself not to think about getting a boner in Agron’s shower. That wouldn’t entirely make for good guest-like behavior now would it? Agron was just being super nice and a great friend by letting Nasir clean up before taking him home to meet the family. That wasn’t weird was it? Meeting his family? Friends met each others’ family all the time, right?

When Nasir finally managed to get himself cleaned up and out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around his narrow hips and headed out to Agron’s bedroom to rummage through his bag for his clothes. He could vaguely hear Agron outside of the bedroom, and he had a sneaking suspicion that the adorable oaf was cleaning up his apartment to make it more presentable. The thought made Nasir chuckle quietly as he searched through his bag for some fresh clothes.

Once he was dressed and the clothes he had been in previously were tucked in to his bag, Nasir made his way out of Agron’s bedroom. He was pulling a brush through his hair, a tiny smile on his face as he spotted Agron bustling about, cleaning the apartment.

“Agron,” Nasir muttered, laughing softly, “I told you it wasn’t a big deal.”

“I know,” Agron jumped a bit, clearly startled by Nasir’s entrance, “I just.. well, I felt bad that it was a mess.” He sent Nasir a sheepish smile, which made Nasir’s stomach fill with flittering butterflies. Damn it.

“It doesn’t matter,” Nasir shook his head, taking his towel to his hair and rubbing it vigorously to towel dry his dark curls a bit more before they left for Duro and Michelle’s house. Once he was finished toweling off his head, he looked over at Agron, “where should I put this?”

“Oh, just… throw it in the bedroom, I’ll get it later.” Agron laughed a bit as he stepped over to Nasir and grabbed the towel before Nasir could protest. He tossed it in to his room and moved to grab Nasir’s bag. “C’mon, we should probably go.”

Nasir nodded, allowing Agron to carry his bag (again). He slipped on his shoes and nodded as he followed Agron out of the apartment. That man did very, very funny things to him. Nasir had been trying so desperately not to fall harder for Agron over the time he’d spent with him. He believed that he had to go through this grace period after Julian (even though technically, he hadn’t been in a sound relationship with Julian for at least six months prior to meeting Agron).

And yet, Nasir found himself still falling; and falling hard.

+++

Agron drove the two of them to Duro and Michelle’s house. As he drove, he tried desperately not to dwell too much on how good Nasir looked. He’d pulled on a pair of form fitting jeans and a dark red button up. Agron had specifically picked those clothes for when Nasir got out of the hospital, but he would never admit that.

Agron pulled the Camaro in to Duro’s drive, parking it and shutting the engine off. He turned to look at Nasir and have him a crooked smile. “It’s too late to back out now. If you didn’t want to come you shoulda said something back at my apartment.”

Nasir shook his head, giving Agron that tummy-flipping small smile, “Agron, if I didn’t want to come to dinner, I would have told you as soon as you didn’t head towards _my_ apartment.”

“Right,” Agron nodded, giving Nasir a wider grin before he pulled his keys from the ignition and opened his door. He got out of the car and headed around the hood to meet Nasir. He placed his hand on the small of Nasir’s back; it was almost like he had to touch the little man at any chance that he could. Otherwise, he wasn’t entirely living his life to the fullest.

The front door opened before the two of them actually made it on to the steps. Agron let out a laugh as Duro stood in the doorway. Alec was peeking around his legs. Once Alec saw Agron, the small boy brushed past his father and lunged up at Agron. 

“UNCLE AGWON!” Luckily for Duro (and the mild heart attack that brought on), Agron was pretty good with reflexes and caught his nephew before he sailed right past him and landed face first on the concrete walkway.

“Easy there, tiger,” Agron laughed, throwing the child up in to the air as Alec let out a wild squeal-like laugh.

Nasir chuckled, moving ahead of Agron and Alec, holding out a hand to Duro. “I’m Nasir. It’s nice to meet you, and thank you for inviting me for dinner.”

Duro took Nasir’s hand in a hand shake and shook his head, “my wife would’ve had both of our balls if you didn’t come over for dinner once you were released,” Duro told him with an easy laugh. Agron had a sudden overwhelming sense of pride that Duro was his brother (and not currently acting like a fucking idiot).

Agron slung Alec over his shoulder, stepping up behind Nasir and angling the kid back so that his feet were straight up in to the air and not at risk of kicking his little man in the head. “So, where’s the food? I’m starving.”

“Nice, Agron,” Duro laughed and shook his head as he stepped aside to let everyone in to the house, “and if you drop my kid, it’s just more to blame on you.” 

“I’m not going to drop him,” Agron protested, shaking his head even as he tightened his hold on Alec’s legs just in case.

Once inside, Duro lead them in to the living room, where Agron promptly dropped Alec on to the couch and acted like he was going to sit on him. Alec let out another squeal and scrambled to get out from under his uncle. Agron could see the steady little smile on Nasir’s face as he watched him and Alec, but he tried not to let the fact that that smile made his stomach go all fluttery show.

“You want anything to drink, Nasir?” Duro asked, drawing Agron’s attention.

“Oh, you can’t ask me if _I_ want anything to drink?”

“Agron, go grab _yourself_ and Nasir a drink. You remember where everything is. You practically live here, right?”

“No, not right,” Agron shook his head but pushed himself up from the couch he had _just_ sat down on and headed towards the kitchen. Alec bounded off of the couch, hot on Agron’s heels.

+++

Nasir took a seat and watched Agron meander off towards the kitchen with his nephew hot on his heels. He noticed that _This Means War_ was playing on the television, and Nasir couldn’t help but think how unbelievably _HOT_ Tom Hardy was. He chuckled softly, shaking his head a bit before Duro drew his attention back towards him. “So, it’s good to finally meet you, Nasir. I’m serious when I say that. Agron’s been talking nonstop about you since Spartacus’s party.”

Nasir’s eyes widened a bit, but he tried to hold in his shock. “He has?”

Duro nodded, sitting down in a chair and leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he looked at Nasir. “Definitely,” he chuckled out, a crooked smile that could easily match Agron’s curving his lips, “I’ve honestly never seen him act this way about anyone. I’m glad the two of you are dating.”

Nasir reigned in his reaction. He wanted to scream or something, but he forced out a small hum and shook his head, “Agron and I aren’t dating, Duro….” He trailed off, not entirely sure what else to say. They weren’t dating right? I mean, surely one or both of them would have acknowledged that official title of “dating” at some point, wouldn’t they? He couldn’t be dating Agron. He was supposed to still be in mourning and all of that bullshit…. Right?

“You’re not?” Duro looked genuinely surprised by Nasir’s correction. He looked at Nasir with wide eyes, maybe a bit darker than his own, and a slack jaw. 

“N-No.” Nasir shook his head, catching his bottom lip between his teeth as he tried like hell to fight the oncoming flush. “We…. Uh… We’re just friends.” At least, that’s what Nasir’d been thinking for the past three-ish months. Nasir had always been so sure that Agron was just on a friendly level, emotion-towards-him-wise. He never had a clue that he might seriously be as interested as Nasir was.

Duro blinked a few times, lifting a hand to rub his face. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I just- I thought that, you know, you two were actually dating by how much he talks about you and all of that.”

“No, no,” Nasir shook his head, holding up a hand, “don’t apologize. I probably would have come to the same conclusion were I in your shoes.”

“But you’re seriously not dating?” Duro asked, disbelief in his tone and expression.

Nasir bit down on his bottom lip again as he shook his head, “No.. We’re not dating. I… Well, to be honest, I had no idea that he harbored such feelings-.”

“You’re shittin’ me,” Duro let out a soft chuckle, looking at Nasir with an incredulous expression. “Seriously? You had no idea that he’s pretty much head over heels for you?”

Nasir felt like his heart was about to pound right out of his chest. He shook his head again, not entirely trusting his voice. He couldn’t believe that he was sitting here, getting information on Agron’s feelings by his little brother, who he’d never met before in his entire life and was just opening up like they were old friends.

“Fuck me,” Duro shot a nervous glanced towards the kitchen, and Nasir figured it was more for Michelle than Agron hearing their conversation. Having a small child, Nasir was pretty sure that the brothers had to reign in their level of profanities in the house. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… uh… let the proverbial cat out of the bag.”

“No…” Nasir shook his head, lowering his eyes to his hands in his lap, “don’t be sorry. I just….. I guess I just wish that Agron had mentioned something so that I wasn’t so shocked when you said something.”

“I really shouldn’t have-.”

“Duro,” Nasir lifted his eyes to look at Agron’s adorable little brother, “don’t worry about it. It’s alright, really.”

Duro let out a breath and sank back in to his chair, rubbing at his face. Nasir could tell that he felt like shit about it, so he added, “let’s just pretend you didn’t say anything okay? And then we can let Agron move at his own pace… if he wants to move at all, y’know? And then you’ll be in the clear and he won’t have to use his MMA skills on your head.”

“Kinda like he did Chris?” Duro’s eyes widened and his mouth snapped shut almost as soon as the words were out. Nasir got the very distinct feeling that he was never supposed to mention that certain topic. Ever.

Nasir leaned forward slightly, his interest definitely piqued. “What?”

Duro shook his head, his lips pressed in to a tight line, as if he wouldn’t speak again. “Duro, tell me,” Nasir’s voice was a lot firmer than he would have suspected, given the serious bought of nausea that was currently swarming through his body. “Tell me now.”

Duro kept his eyes on Nasir for a moment before he mouthed out a ‘Fuck the gods’. He leaned forward, his elbows back against his knees as he looked at Nasir with the biggest puppy dog expression ever. “Don’t make me say it…. Agron’ll kill me. I wasn’t supposed to say anything about it. To anyone. Ever.”

“I don’t care what you were or weren’t supposed to say, Duro,” Nasir told him, scooting forward on the couch to get closer, maybe even to appear more threatening. “Tell me. What about Chris?”

Duro shrank back a little bit. Nasir would be lying if he didn’t admit that seeing Duro shrink away from him gave him a certain feeling of satisfaction. Duro opened his mouth like he was going to speak before he closed it again. And with a prodding expression from Nasir, Duro opened his mouth again, this time words flowing out quickly, “he said that Chris came in to your hospital room and then completely freaked out. He said that Chris was a dickshit that completely ripped open your wound and threw you on the floor and then punched you even after all of that. He said that after that, he was so angry that he was only seeing red. Agron suffers from major rage blackouts, you know, and so he was on the verge of really losing his collective shit, and then when he left the hospital for a while, he saw Chris coming back after he’d said to leave and not come back and all of that. AndthenAgronbeattheshitoutofhim.”

Duro’s last sentence was a blur, but somehow Nasir was able to get the memo. Agron had beat the shit out of Chris. He had beat the shit out of Chris. Agron _beat _the _shit___ out of Chris. Agron, whose body was basically considered a deadly weapon with the profession that he had fallen in to. Agron, who was trained to incapacitate his opponents. Agron, who knew exactly how to throw valid punches and kicks and more fighting moves.

Nasir was suddenly finding it really hard to breath. His stomach felt like it was tangled in his tonsils. His heart felt like it was beating out of his ears. His vision blurred a bit, and before he knew it, he was standing up and making his way in to the kitchen. He knew before he saw the look on Agron’s face that he had completely blanched, the blood draining from his face the moment that what Duro said struck him.

He stepped over to Duro’s wife, who was stirring something on the stove, and quietly said, “Thank you for the invitation to dinner, but I’m afraid that I’m just not feeling up for it tonight.” Nasir didn’t entirely recognize his own voice, but he couldn’t stop the words from flowing from his lips.

Michelle turned around, her expression immediately falling to concerned, the smile immediately wiping clear. “Oh, no,” she murmured, her hand reaching out as if she wanted to touch him, to comfort him, but she refrained from doing so. Instead, she turned to Agron and said, “Get him home, Agron. Immediately, he really doesn’t look well.”

Agron’s expression was even more concerned than Michelle’s was. He stepped over to Nasir, one hand moving up to cup the side of his neck and jaw. Nasir, unable to stop himself, turned his head away from Agron’s touch. From the corner of his eye, he could see Agron’s expression fall even more. “Come on,” Agron murmured, “I’ll take you home.” His voice was tight, but Nasir couldn’t think about that right now.

+++

After thanking Duro and Michelle for their hospitality, and giving an empty promise that he would return when he was feeling better. He kept his body from Agron’s touch as he quickly made his way out of the house and towards Agron’s Camaro. Before, he’d thought how fun it would be to get fucked in that car, or on top of it, but now he couldn’t even think like that. He slid in to the passenger’s seat and angled his body towards the door, peering out of the window.

Agron climbed in to the driver’s seat and immediately started the car, pulling from the driveway and heading off towards Nasir’s apartment. He didn’t say anything, but Nasir could practically feel the tension coming off of him in waves. He seriously had no idea what Nasir was thinking at the moment, which, grant it, actually made Nasir more irrationally angry. He was seriously clueless and thought Nasir was just feeling ill.

The entire car ride was silent. Nasir knew that Agron shot him worried glances every now and then as he white-knuckled the steering wheel. Nasir didn’t entirely care at the moment if Agron was worried about him. He knew Agron was probably contemplating taking him right back to the hospital, but he just remained quiet and let Agron have his own internal battle while he stewed on his own thoughts.

He couldn’t believe Agron could be so stupid. Well, since Duro said he suffered from rage blackouts, Nasir couldn’t entirely _not_ believe that he could be so stupid. But, his body was a deadly weapon for fuck’s sake! He had to know that should Chris bring up charges on him, he could go to prison for assault with a deadly weapon! He could even be pegged for attempted murder if Chris said that it appeared that Agron had the right intent behind his actions.

As soon as Agron stopped the car, Nasir wrenched the door open and nearly fell out on to the pavement below. He grabbed his bag quickly, tugging on it ruthlessly when it snagged on the front seat before he finally got it and himself out of the car. If the door slammed behind him, he wasn’t accountable, right? He didn’t entirely care if it seemed like he just couldn’t _wait_ to get away from Agron. He felt like he was about to either throw up or start hyperventilating, and right now, both were a serious option.

He felt Agron’s hand on his elbow as he headed towards the apartment building’s door. He promptly snatched his elbow away and pulled the door open roughly, heading inside. He didn’t even wait for the elevator and headed straight for the stairs. He’d probably pay for it later, but at this point, he’d welcome pain other than what was in his chest right now.

+++

Agron followed after Nasir, taking the stairs two at a time in order to keep up with him. It was impressive how fast Nasir climbed the stairs in his condition, but Agron was also worried out of his mind that something was seriously wrong here. Nasir wouldn’t even let him touch him. Nasir wouldn’t even talk to him. Hell, Nasir wouldn’t even _look_ at him.

When they reached Nasir’s door, he fished around in his bag for his keys. Agron let out a breath and dug in to his pocket, holding out his keys for Nasir. He’d kept them in his pocket so he wouldn’t accidentally lose them. He jerked a bit when Nasir snatched, yes, literally snatched the keys from his hand. He watched Nasir fumble for the right key and hurriedly unlock the door.

Maybe he had to throw up or something, and that’s why he was rushing? Agron had no earthly idea what the hell was going on, but Nasir looked pale as a ghost, and he certainly didn’t like it. At all.

Agron almost got a door to his nose when he made to follow Nasir in to his apartment. He quickly lifted a hand and stopped the door from colliding with his face, pushing it open and pushing his way in to the apartment. “Nasir-“

“NO!” Nasir threw his bag and keys down, rounding on him. His eyes flashed darker than they normally were, and Agron had the very distinct feeling that he was in major shit.

“Nasir, what-“

“NO!” He yelled again, pointing a finger at Agron. Agron instinctively took a step back, his shoulders tensing at Nasir’s body language. He was _pissed_. Agron had never seen him this angry. “Don’t you dare! Duro told me what you did, Agron! He told me that you found Chris after he came to my room, and that you beat the fuck out of him!”

Agron stood there, his jaw slack as he stared at Nasir. He tried to process what Nasir was yelling at him, but he couldn’t entirely get over the fact that Nasir was this angry at him. He’d never been angry with him. Once the words set in, though, Agron’s jaw snapped shut audibly in the otherwise silent room. He took a step forward, towards Nasir, only for Nasir to take a corresponding step back.

Agron’s chest tightened at that simple move, but he pushed past it. “Nasir, he _attacked_ you! What was I supposed to do? He was coming back to your hospital room and you were already fed up with the whole subject, and I didn’t know if he was going to make another scene and hurt you further and I couldn’t let that happen!”

“You had _no_ right!” Nasir shouted at him. His expression was set in clear rage, and Agron wasn’t sure how to deal with this. He couldn’t just out and say that he did it because he’s head over heels in love with Nasir, that he didn’t want Chris to hurt him, that he would kill someone for hurting him and not even think twice about it. He couldn’t do that.

“He could have hurt you more! He’d already ripped your staples and punched you!” Agron defended his actions, “you were already an emotional wreck with everything that had happened and being stuck in the hospital and everything else! I wasn’t about to let that fucking shit come in there and cause more damage than he’s worth! So, when I saw him, I lost control, okay? I couldn’t bear the thought of him hurting you… even seeing you again!”

“It isn’t your place to protect me!” Nasir countered, jabbing a finger at the air again, pointing at Agron. “It’s not your place, godammit! You’re not my boyfriend! You’re not my family!”

Agron sucked in a breath, his jaw clenched so hard that he felt like his teeth were going to crumble at the pressure. He took another step, knowing his own expression was darkening. “I did what I thought was right. You have to see that,” his expression may or may not have changed to match his pleading tone.

Nasir stared at him, his own jaw tight. “Your body is a deadly weapon, Agron,” he said, shaking his head as he held firm eye contact. “If Chris decides to press charges, you could go to prison! How could you be so fucking stupid?!”

“He’s not going to press charges!”

“And how do you know that?” Nasir asked, his eyebrows elevating.

“Because I said that if he went to the cops that I could find him.” Agron said, the _“and kill him”_ implied.

Nasir stared at him, his expression completely beyond baffled. He shook his head, lifting a hand to rub it down his face as he turned away from him. “This is a fucking disaster,” he mumbled, so low that Agron wasn’t sure that’s what he said at all.

Agron stepped closer to him, tentatively reaching out and placing his hands on Nasir’s shoulders. It took Nasir a moment to pull away, and that small moment gave Agron the tiniest bit of hope that he hadn’t completely fucked this up. “I did what I thought was right,” he muttered, looking down at the back of Nasir’s head. His shoulders were set in such a taught line that Agron was contemplating just reaching out and massaging the tension from his shoulders.

“What you did was stupid.” Nasir told him, keeping his back to Agron. “It was stupid and I don’t think I can forgive this.”

“Nasir,” Agron started, his voice faltering as he felt his eyebrows pull together. If he was man enough to admit it, he’d admit that he felt his eyes stinging, too; but he wasn’t.

“You need to leave, Agron,” Nasir said, his voice low and soft. Agron was sure that it was a defeated tone, which made his chest tighten all the more. 

“Nasir,” Agron started again, only to be interrupted.

“Get out of my apartment,” Nasir said, his voice much firmer. “Just…. Just go.”

Agron stared at Nasir’s back. His posture was still stiff, but Agron could see resolve behind it. He wasn’t going to win this. He sucked in a shaking breath, fighting his own emotions: the panic, the fear, the unfathomable shame for making Nasir feel like this, for making Nasir kick him out of his apartment and possibly his life. “I’m not giving up on this,” Agron muttered, knowing that Nasir could hear him because the only other noise in the apartment came from their breathing. “I won’t. I won’t give up on this. What we have? What I feel? It’s not something I can give up on. I won’t let this end before it even started.”

Nasir’s shoulders tightened even more, if that was possible, and he shook his head. “Just go, Agron. Please,” his last word was pleading, and it made Agron kick in to gear. He never wanted to make Nasir feel like this. He never wanted to fuck this up like he apparently did. Agron turned, making his way out of Nasir’s apartment and closing the door behind him with a definitive click.

He couldn’t believe how the night had ended up. He was supposed to take Nasir to Duro and Michelle’s and have a nice dinner. Let his family meet the man that he was so caught up on. He was supposed to make Nasir realize that he wasn’t alone and that Agron would be there, from now on, for better or worse (minus the vow-like quality of those words…unless Nasir wanted them to be vow-like, then they totally could be). He was supposed to make Nasir see that Agron _knew_ that he could move on from Julian and the guilt that he harbored for that particular disaster. He wasn’t supposed to become another one.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. They were supposed to realize that they had this earth-defying connection; that they were meant to be together despite the shitastic series of events that prevented it from day one. They were supposed to be friends, maybe even the best of friends, and realize that friendship was just the lowest notch on the totem pole; that deep-seeded love was at the top and that they could find it. They were supposed to realize that despite everything that had happened it was possible to be happy again; with each other.

They weren’t supposed to end up like this. They weren’t supposed to have all of that sexual tension and no release to it. They weren’t supposed to have inclinations that the other weren’t interested. They weren’t supposed to come to ill-terms with the events that have already passed. They weren’t supposed to fight like that. They weren’t supposed to end everything before it started.

As he sank in to the driver’s seat of his car, Agron’s hands gripped the steering wheel until his joints locked up and his knuckles seemed to be painted permanently white. He could feel himself fighting for breath, to keep his emotions at bay. But it was one of the hardest things that he had ever had to do, reign himself in so that he didn’t lose his shit in a parking spot outside of Nasir’s apartment building. It was one of the hardest things he ever had to do, to accept that he might have just lost the best thing that potentially ever happened to him.

No. He wasn’t going to give up on this. Not before it even started. Agron steeled his resolve and ignited the engine. He was going to fix this if this was the last thing that he ever did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On top of writer’s block, I’ve been dealing with recurring migraines and bouts of insomnia (not a good combination for someone with irrational rage issues, mind you =P), not to mention my grandmother doing to doctors and yaddah yaddah. My car (which held up nicely after I mauled a deer at the beginning of May) has been fucking up since I got it back after nearly a month at the body shop from the accident, and it’s still acting up after taking it back to the shop THREE times! Oh, and let’s just mention how my brother wrecked my mother’s car yesterday (2nd) while it was raining so hard that I couldn’t see ten feet in front of my car while driving to get him. The insurance won’t cover more rental coverage or the car in general because somehow it didn’t have collision, only comprehensive. And so now my mother has no car or money to get a new car, and everything’s a huge WRECK (pun intended, of course). 
> 
> So, I’m terribly sorry that I haven’t gotten the next chapter up before now, but needless to say, I haven’t entirely been able to focus on the wondrous amazingness that is Nagron or my own personal Mondernverse for them. Apologies, my friends, but, hopefully this’ll be good enough for the wait you’ve had to endure.


	8. Stay With Me, Baby, Stay With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir has to get over himself. He has to get Agron back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 13k+ words! I told you it'd be long! I hope this is a good enough ending for you guys! Lemme know what you think with comments and such!

**Month One:**

Nasir had told Agron to get out. He’d said that he didn’t know if he could forgive Agron for putting his fists of fury in to action on Chris’s face. He’d told him to get out, and he hadn’t even looked at him when he turned to leave. Nasir, once again, was being a complete dumbfuck.

It hadn’t occurred to him at the time that the only reason he had begun to get actual sleep was because Agron was wrapped around him like some sort of security blanket. It hadn’t occurred to him that Agron was keeping his subconscious from wracking his mind with horrible nightmares from all of the guilt and emotions he had pent up inside of him. It hadn’t occurred to him that if he told Agron to leave, then he would have the worst month’s sleep of his entire fucking life.

It also, obviously, didn’t occur to him how much he had grown accustomed to Agron being around him. He found himself talking to Agron when he wasn’t there, as he had been doing since he woke up in the hospital. Agron had become the one constant in his life, and Nasir had blatantly, rudely, and cruelly tossed all of that out of the window when he sent Agron packing.

Don’t get him wrong, now, Nasir still thought that what Agron did was so incredibly reckless and stupid (for once he understood the warning that Crixus grumbled about the first night he met everyone at Spartacus’s party); but he also realized how quick to judge he was. He realized that he was being the ass in this scenario. He realized that, even as Naevia and Mira pressed him for details on why Agron was suddenly a lot more angry and broodish (which he promptly changed the subject from), he was the one who had made the horrible decision; ended it all without even a single thought to what it would be like _not_ to have Agron in his life. 

Most of all, Nasir realized that he seriously missed Agron.

**Month Two:**

Nasir had to put on a brave face whenever he was around the group. That also meant that he had to put on a brave face around Agron, because Agron would always be with the group despite the fact that Nasir was there. Nasir felt like complete shit because he could see the dark circles under Agron’s eyes, as if he hadn’t been sleeping very well. Nasir personally knew that to be the truth for himself, and he just prayed that none of their friends would comment on the matching circles under their eyes.

He was currently standing at the bar with Mira, leaning against it with his forehead resting against his arms. Mira’s hand moved to smoothly rub between his shoulder blades, causing Nasir’s back to tense up. “What happened?” Mira asked, her voice soft; but Nasir was able to hear it despite the music playing loudly over the speakers.

Nasir wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to go out dancing with the group again. It had been the start of all his Agron-related problems, it seemed. But in reality, it was simply the cause of his most recent _Julian_ problem. He sighed heavily and lifted his head to look at her with tired eyes, “nothing, Mir. Don’t worry over it, okay?”

“How can you say that?” She asked, her eyebrows elevating as she leveled him with one of her best bitch faces, “Nasir, you’re one of my very best friends, alright? And if Naevia wasn’t doing the bump-and-grind on the dance floor at this moment, she’d be standing right beside me with this exact same expression.” She let out a breath and picked up her shot, tossing it back with ease before leveling him with dark eyes again.

“What happened?” She reiterated, one hand moving to rest on her hip as the other tapped out the beat to the music on the bar.

Nasir looked over to the group of their friends, seeing Agron dancing with his hands flailing up in the air like he had no care in the world; and for a moment, Nasir might have believed it. Until Agron opened his eyes and turned his head to stare at him with bright green eyes that held a certain depth of sadness, of longing. Nasir let out a huge breath, dropping his eyes to the floor between them. “I messed up.”

Mira followed Nasir’s gaze after he dropped it, looking over at Agron on the dance floor. She let out a breath and turned her attention back to Nasir, moving her hand and hooking a finger under his chin to get him to look at her. “Imuna need you to give me a little more than that. What happened?” She asked again, her voice steady and unrelenting.

Nasir’s eyebrows pulled together a bit as he looked at her. He actually had to look up a bit considering she was wearing some killer stilettos, but he didn’t mind too much. “You know what Chris did, right? Hell, you were pissed as hell about it. Well, so was he,” Nasir knew she would understand that he meant Agron, “and the next time he saw Chris, he beat the shit out of him and said that if he went to the cops that he would find him.” _And kill him_ being implied.

Mira’s expression shifted minutely in to something Nasir couldn’t quite place for a split second before she expertly smoothed it out and pinched his chin a little bit. “What he did? It was because he cares about you. He didn’t want to see that rat-bastard hurt you again. The thing about Agron is…” She glanced over at the dance floor again before turning her gaze to Nasir, “he’s a very loyal person, Nasir. When he’s your friend, he’s always there. When he hates your guts, he’s always there to kick your ass in to the ground. When he loves you…” Her voice sort of lilted up as if that was a question, but Nasir knew it wasn’t, “when he loves you, he loves you whole heartedly, no matter what. That’s just how he is.”

Nasir lowered his eyes to the floor again, ignoring how Mira’s fingers sort of dug in to his chin as he angled his head down. “I get that, and now… Now he’ll barely talk to me. I messed up, Mir,” he lifted his head to look at her, his eyes dangerously close to stinging with unshed tears, “I messed up so fucking bad.”

**Month Three:**

Every time the group would get together, Nasir and Agron would speak conversationally, but nothing like they used to. They would position themselves as far away from each other as possible, and prevent awkward conversation between the two. Nasir knew that he wanted nothing more than to pull Agron aside and apologize for being a dick, but he was also a pretty proud individual, and he couldn’t make himself stoop that the level of groveling to get Agron back in his life.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had a text conversation with Agron, either. It’s like when he told Agron to leave, he just lost Nasir’s number. He’d tried several times to strike up conversation, just about random things (mostly group related) but Agron would brush him off by telling him that he didn’t know and that he should probably ask Mira or Naevia for the answers to his questions. Nasir knew that Agron was avoiding him; but he couldn’t entirely blame him.

He was sitting at his kitchen table, type, type, typing away on his laptop as he worked on an article for the magazine when Naevia walked in to his apartment. He’d given her a key a while ago in case she needed to get in for emergencies or to pick something up while he wasn’t there; and he was beginning to rethink that decision considering she was waltzing in more frequently these days. He didn’t even bother looking up from his screen as he typed.

“Hey,” Naevia muttered as she set down a large bag of take out on the table next to Nasir. She stood there for a second, waiting for Nasir to acknowledge her; but when he didn’t, she huffed out a breath and turned to gather two glasses for their drinks. “You know, you can’t just sit there and ignore me when I brought you your favorite take out.” She told him, her tone matter-of-fact enough to make Nasir’s shoulders tense.

“Why did you bring me my favorite take out?” Nasir asked, typing away through the tension in his shoulders. He knew he would probably have to go back through his document and make sure he didn’t type what he was saying on accident (or, y’know, something about Agron and/or his many many mental/emotional issues at the moment).

“Because we’re the very best of friends and I’ve missed hanging out with you?” Naevia suggested, pouring them both something to drink. Apparently she had only been able to find the apple juice in the fridge (Nasir hadn’t entirely been bothered enough to go grocery shopping this week), and settled for pouring that in to the glasses before she carried them over to the table and took her seat.

Nasir’s shoulders slouched. Naevia was right. They hadn’t entirely had the time to hang out recently; what with his near death experience and then the grueling healing process, and then his horrid debacle with Agron-related things. He let out a huge breath, knowing he was, once again, being a dick. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, saving his document and closing his laptop. He slid it to the far end of the table and looked over at Naevia, “I know I haven’t entirely been….worthy of your friendship recently.”

Naevia shook her head, offering him a small inkling of a smile as she slid his apple juice in front of him. “Don’t worry about it, honey,” she reached out and grabbed the bag of take out, pulling the boxes out of the bag and setting them out on the table. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you.”

Nasir took a sip of the apple juice, watching her set out the food and keeping his eyes off of her.

“I know it was hard when Julian… passed.” She kept her tone light, continuing to set things out as if that would take away from her words, “and I know that what happened with Chris was also bad. I know you blamed yourself for a lot of that situation,” She turned her head to look at him when he interrupted.

“Naevia, I don’t really want,” She then interrupted him in turn.

“Nasir, you have to talk about this stuff,” she told him, her expression stern. “You can’t keep all of this stuff bottled up inside, okay? It’s really not healthy. And believe me when I say that it will eventually get to you, and it will eventually break you.”

Nasir stared at her, his jaw a bit slack. He sat quietly for a few moments before he let out a shaking breath and peered down in to his apple juice, “I don’t want to break, Nae. I don’t want to feel what I’m feeling. And it’s bad enough that what I’m feeling isn’t really at all to do with Julian- I mean, it is, of course it is. I loved him and he was my best friend, my family, and now he’s gone….but…” He trailed off, shaking his head.

“But what’s eating at you now has more to do with Agron than Julian,” Naevia finished for him, her voice a lot softer than it had been before.

Nasir’s head shot up, his dark eyes wide as he looked at her. He hadn’t entirely spoken to Naevia or Mira about any of the Agron things. He’d told Mira that he messed up, sure, but other than that, only he knew the details. And he hadn’t spoken to Naevia about it hardly at all. “How-?”

“I’m not an idiot, Nasir,” Naevia laughed softly, scooting the plate of his favorites towards him and handing him some chop sticks. “I’ve known for a couple months now that something drastic has happened between the two of you. Agron’s been angry and broody, basically moping around. You’ve been a lot more closed off than you have been in a while. Not to mention, you two aren’t joined at the hip much anymore.”

Nasir opened his mouth to speak, but then promptly closed it. He blinked a few times before he pointedly shifted the focus to the food in front of him, taking a very large bite of his food and taking the time to chew it until he had nothing else to chew before swallowing and glancing back at Naevia.

“Things with Agron are….”

“Messed up?”

“You could say that,” Nasir nodded, frowning down at his food. “Duro let it slip that he beat Chris to a pulp and I….well, I took it the completely wrong way.”

“But you know that Agron only did that for your sake, right?”

“I know- I know,” Nasir nodded again, shuffling through his food for some mushrooms. “I just… I couldn’t believe he could be so wreckless—You know, Crixus told me that the first time I met him, right? You remember?” When Naevia nodded, Nasir went on, “Well, for the first time, I finally understood what Crixus was warning me about. I couldn’t believe that Agron would use his well honed and trained body for something like that. And over me. And I took it and blew it completely out of proportions.”

“So what happened?”

“I told him that I didn’t know if I could forgive him for that.” Nasir replied, chewing idly on the end of one of his chop sticks as he glanced over at Naevia, “I told him to get out. Just like that. I didn’t let him explain himself, I just accused him of being stupid and reckless and told him to get out of my house. Then, he said he wouldn’t give up on this, on us, but I don’t see him fighting for anything.” Nasir looked over at her, feeling his throat tighten a little bit. “I don’t see him fighting to keep what we had going or what we had a possibility of. He just… gave up.”

Naevia’s eyebrows pulled together and before Nasir knew it, he was wrapped in her arms, his chopsticks discarded and his chin resting on her shoulder. “Awe, honey,” she murmured, rubbing her hand over his back lightly. “Maybe Agron just needs to know that _you_ want the same thing that he does.” She squeezed him a little bit, only making his throat feel tighter. There was always something about comforting touches or hugs that always made you want to break down and let the waterworks free. “Maybe he just needs to feel wanted?”

Nasir wrapped his arms around Naevia finally, holding on tight. “How am I supposed to show him that if he wont talk to me? He wont answer my texts or my calls. When the group’s together, he’s pointedly as far from me as he can get.”

“Maybe he’s just giving you time and space,” Naevia offered.

Nasir held on to her, his fingers gripping the shirt at her shoulder blades. He closed his eyes tightly as he sucked in a breath, trying to reign in his emotions. “I miss him.” He muttered, frowning against Naevia’s shoulder.

**Month Four:**

Smooth pale skin under his palms. The sweet sound of kiss-muffled moans filled the air, which seemed to be full of static electricity; because every time his skin brushed against his, tingles erupted. His fingertips brushed the teasing skin that showed as his shirt hiked up slightly on his stomach, revealing the glorious rippling abs that twitched by the flittering touch. His stomach sank in as he nearly gasped at the feather light though to his skin.

Shirts fall to the floor next to the bed, thrown aside because the thin cloth was simply in the way. The need for bare skin to touch was too high. The next to hit the floor were to all too confining pants. Hands slid over smooth bare skin, warmed by the rushing blood and rising body temperatures. Lips brushed lips. Teeth lightly scraped against the slight angle of his jaw before lips teasingly trailed their way down to the smooth skin of his neck. Light sucking motions at his collarbone raised the blood vessels under his skin, causing a red tinted discoloration classified as a hickey. Lips trailing past the newly acquired bruise, making their way down to pay close attention to his well toned chest, suckling on the hardened nipples; extra care with those; lips on one, a hand on the other, gently massaging, the perfect touch. His lips trailed back up to his neck , stopping just by his ear. Whispers of strikingly provocative things as his hand now slid down his stomach, sliding between the soft fabric and his skin, moving to tease and massage the area that he really wanted. Almost brought to climax just by his fingers and his palm, he moves to slide those restraining boxer briefs off, tossing them to the floor. 

He’s already hard; so hard that maybe, just maybe, one touch could cause him to explode. He wanted him so bad that he was physically aching where he shouldn’t be. His beckoning moans and touches hadn’t helped the matter in the least bit. He swore quietly, when he pushed him down on to the bed, moving his lips to the tip of his cock, his tongue teasing the head. His head fell back against the head board as he felt himself slide in to the warm wetness of his mouth. With fingers lightly wrapped around the shaft, he moved them in the same motion of his head, which bobbed up and down as he sucked. He moved his fingers in to his short, soft hair, gripping at the scalp as he guided his head at the pace that he wanted; he wouldn’t complain, just give him what he wanted as he lifted his green orbs, looking at him through his lashes in an incredibly sexy, stunning way. The groans that bubbled up from his chest were guttural, rumbling, and only seemed to give him the approval that he sought.

The switch of positions. The brisk penetration that brought a moan from both of their lips. The tightness from the time spent since he’d done this wrapping around him in a deliciously blissful manner. The steady movements in and out, the pace quickening as the moans of encouragement guided him. Angling his trusts to hit the perfect spot, causing the deep, throaty moans to grow louder, stronger.  
The switch of positions, again. Legs straddling his hips, his hips grinding down against his. His hands sliding up his thighs, his fingers lightly digging in to his skin before sliding further up his hips before trailing up the subtle curves of his sides; thumbs flitting across the nipples for an extra sensation. Masculine moans and the expression of complete bliss. Then, one hand moving down his stomach and resting low enough so that he could easily move his hand, wrapping his fingers around the weeping cock. Pumping his fist over the engorged flesh, beckoning more cries of pleasure to fill the room.

The building pressure in his groin; the tightening of the muscles that wrapped around him. And finally, the fantastic climax that sends them both reeling.

 

The continuation of the entire process over and over until the sun rises and shines through the curtains. The continuous fantastical fucking that left them both in a sort of high and even accompanied by slightly aching muscles.

Nasir woke with a start. He could feel the slick, sticky mess in his boxer briefs as he fought to catch his breath. His hand moved to rest against his bare chest, just above his heart. He could feel his erratic pulse pounding throughout his entire body. He could feel his arms and legs trembling from the exquisite orgasm that had just pulled him from his slumber. Never in his entire life had he had an erotic dream of such magnitude.

He had woken up several times in his life, sporting a mean boner; though he had never woken up due to having an orgasm in his sleep. It was the strangest thing, and yet he knew that if he hadn’t met Agron, hadn’t fallen so much for the man, he wouldn’t have been experiencing dreams of that scale. Agron had plowed right in to him, from day one. Moment number one. And Nasir was completely lost in all that was Agron.

+++

Nasir had begun to have more and more dreams about Agron. Of course, not all of them involved plowing in to him (of course, plowing as in incredibly, mind blowing fucking and not nearly breaking his nose with a door and shoving him to the floor). Some of the dreams were very simple things. The two of them would he lying in bed, talking for hours or cuddling. They’d be out with the group for dinner or dancing. They’d be sitting next to each other and relishing in the simple touch of brushing finger tips in feather light motions over forearms.

The enormity that Nasir realized he missed Agron hit him every day, just like that orgasm had hit him in his sleep. It knocked the breath right out of his chest, and he wished more than anything that he could just see Agron, _talk_ to him and make him see that he was so, so, so very sorry for beng a colossal fuck up.

He had his chance when the group decided that having a little dinner at Spartacus’s penthouse was an adequate way to celebrate Gannicus’s win in the tournament. Nasir brought Gannicus a congratulatory gift (he wasn’t sure what it was because Naevia and Mira actually picked it out), and a bottle of wine. He was shocked to find that the gift was actually a large bottle of whiskey. He laughed softly to himself, sipping his wine as he sat on the ivory couch with Mira and Naevia flanking him. 

The next thing that he knew, Gannicus had hauled him up off of the couch and wrapped him up in a tight hug, actually lifting Nasir off of the floor as he let out a deep laugh against Nasir’s ear. “Thanks for the booze, my friend, now I’m going to get properly wasted.”

“No problem,” Nasir muttered through his own laugh, relieved when Gannicus set him back on the floor and he could gather his bearings a little bit. He glanced behind him at Mira and Naevia, who held matching grins from Gannicus’s appreciation.

Nasir briefly noticed that Agron’s expression had fallen a bit when Gannicus wrapped him up in a large hug. It made his stomach do a nasty little flop when Agron noticed him, their gazes locked, and then promptly turned to speak with Spartacus as if he hadn’t just made eye contact with Nasir.

Nasir’s bottom lip caught between his teeth as he turned, heading out of the immediate area and wandering in to the kitchen. His body sagged against the counter a little more roughly than he had originally intended for it to, warranting a strange expression from Saxa. Nasir ignored her, for the most part, as he lifted his wine glass and tossed back the remainder of his wine. He set his glass down on the counter and quickly began to refill it with the expensive wine he’d brought.

Nasir’s shoulders stiffened after he’d downed that glass, and then he was working on another, feeling a light hand on his back. He turned his head to look at Saxa, her expression soft as opposed to her normal fierceness. Nasir almost choked on his gulp of wine. “What?” he asked, well, choked out.

“Forgive me if I’m wrong,” Saxa started, her eyebrows twitching up slightly, “but you seemed to be a little distressed.”

Nasir let out a broken laugh, bowing his head faintly. “Now, what could have possibly given you that idea?” He asked, shaking his head very faintly.

“Well, the fact that you just basically chugged half of that bottle of wine in two minutes…” She trailed off, her fingernails lightly scratching at Nasir’s back through his shirt, “and maybe the fact that you’ve been a little less social since getting out of the hospital.”

Nasir whispered out a curse. Godamn this whole group of friends for being eternally observant! Godamn these women for feeling the need to just barge in to his personal dilemmas and tell him what the hell was wrong with him, even more than he already told himself. Godamn them all.

“I’m fine,” Nasir sort of bit out.

“No,” Saxa shook her head, letting out a breath as soft as her voice, “you’re not.” She removed her hand from Nasir’s back after patting him lightly, “but neither is he.”

Nasir’s head snapped up, his dark eyes searching her face for some sort of information. He came up empty, but Saxa pushed her tumbler of whiskey in to his hand with a tiny curve of her lips, “whiskey works better than wine.”

Nasir dropped his eyes to the crystal tumbler in his hand, which was shaking ever so slightly. His lifted his eyes, catching sight of Saxa’s long waves of gold hair falling down her back as she practically sashayed out of the room. He took a silent moment to appreciate how beautiful she was, how she probably didn’t get much recognition for the fact since she was so brutally fierce most of the time; but she was really beautiful. Nasir concluded that Gannicus was definitely a lucky man.

He lowered his eyes back to the whiskey in his hand, his eyebrows tugging together. He sniffed a bit, lifting the glass and tossing back the couple ounces of whiskey that were in the glass. It burned its way down in to his stomach, causing Nasir to let out a little hiss from the bite. He slouched back against the counter, absently setting the tumbler down on the counter next to him as he lowered his eyes to the floor.

+++

Soon enough, Nasir had finished off the bottle of wine. He was a small man, so naturally he was a little more than tipsy. Come on, it isn’t that hard to believe. He never admitted that he was a champion at holding his liquor, after all. He never even mentioned being a light weight, but he also never fully indulged in drinking until he couldn’t see straight.

Nasir made his way out of the kitchen where he’d been hiding out. The wine mixed with the couple ounces of whiskey worked its way through Nasir’s system, causing him to stumble a bit as he moved. He wasn’t entirely seeing four of everything, but twos were another story. Couples were good right? A couple couches, a couple Naevias, a couple Miras. A couple Agrons. 

Oh. _oh_.

A couple Agrons. Now _there_ was a fantastic wet dream waiting to happen. At the thought, Nasir let out a rather unmanly giggle. It, naturally, drew the attention of the others. Nasir clamped his lips together when he noticed the others watching him with amusement. He snickered despite himself, moving to stumble on to the couch between Naevia and Mira.

“Someone’s feeling good,” Mira laughed out, moving a hand to push some hair from Nasir’s face. In the recent months, Nasir hadn’t bothered cutting his hair. It was now to the top of his shoulders due to the unnaturally fast rate that it grew.

“Not really,” Nasir replied, shaking his head as he swatted, in vain, at Mira’s hand. “I’m not feeling good at all. I’ve been such a fucking twat to everyone.”

Mira’s eyebrows shot up as she tried to hide her amusement, but even a drunk Nasir could tell that she was failing. The others in the room seemingly went back to what they were doing, yet, Nasir’s eyes moved from Mira and landed on Agron. 

He was still standing with Spartacus, but he clearly wasn’t listening to what Spartacus was saying. Nasir caught his eyes again, holding his gaze for a long moment. He had to fix this between them. He hated not speaking with Agron, more than he hated himself for inadvertently causing Julian’s death. He hadn’t even taken his chance to talk to Agron, choosing instead to drink an entire bottle of wine and some whiskey. He just… He had to fix it.

**Month six:**

It was Thanksgiving, and Nasir was standing in the middle of the produce section, trying to decide what he wanted in his salad for the night. He had been trying to avoid the group since Gannicus’s celebration party, considering he’d gotten pretty wasted and probably made a huge ass of himself. Spending the holiday alone wouldn’t be the first, and it probably would be last night that Nasir sat at his kitchen table alone, eating a simple salad. He was eyeing the fruits and the vegetables, trying to decide his ingredients when he spotted a familiar figure on the other side of the stand. His stomach did a nervous little flip as he lifted his head, looking at Agron full on.

Agron seemed to be studying the apples as if they were the most interesting thing in the world, making Nasir wonder if he even realized that Nasir was standing there. He got the distinct feeling that had Agron known, he might have avoided his company all together considering how the last several months had gone. Nasir worried his bottom lip, shuffling on his feet a little bit. Finally deciding that he should just go for it, Nasir clear his throat.

“Agron,” he put a flare of friendliness in to his tone, and then he immediately thought it sounded overly fake.

Agron lifted his eyes from the apple in his hand, looking over the top of the stand at Nasir. His lips twitched up in to a tight friendly smile as he nodded, “Nasir.”

Nasir’s stomach filled with something akin to dread. He bit harder on his bottom lip before he stepped around the stand and right up next to Agron, “I…” He paused for a moment before changing tactics, “you’ve been avoiding me.”

Agron’s eyes had fallen back to the apple in his hand as Nasir moved, so at Nasir’s words, Agron’s eyes darted over to his face. “You’re the one who told me to leave.” He pointed out, setting the apple back down among its brothers.

Nasir let out a small sigh, shaking his head, “yes, but I didn’t mean that you should leave all together. We are… were friends, right? You didn’t have to just… drop me completely.”

Agron’s eyebrows twitched as if they were about to form a knot at the center of his forehead, but then his expression smoothed out. “You made it pretty clear that I wasn’t wanted around, Nasir.”

“No, I,” Nasir’s voice dropped off as Agron turned to head towards the registers, apples forgotten. “Agron!”

Agron stopped, turning to look at Nasir, his expression carefully blank so that Nasir couldn’t read it. “What?”

“I…” Nasir swallowed the lump rising in his throat, “I miss you.”

Agron’s jaw tightened fractionally, but Nasir managed to catch the faint movement. “I’m giving you what you wanted, alright? You told me to leave, so I did, and I’m keeping my distance. I should have listened to you all those times you told me to go home. It was pretty obvious that you didn’t entirely see things the way that I did. I,” Agron stopped, shaking his head the tiniest bit. “No, alright, look. I’m just doing what you said. I’ve got to get to Duro’s.”

Nasir let out the breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding as he watched Agron turn and walk off towards the registers. He vaguely felt himself trembling, but he would chock that up as nerves should anyone ask. He couldn’t believe how cold Agron had been. Well, he could believe it, yes, but he didn’t _want_ to. He knew Agron had a mean streak, but he never expected said mean streak to be directed towards him (although, given what happened with Chris, he was really glad he hadn’t provoked the rage blackouts).

Nasir stood in his place, his jaw so tight that he was sure it would lock up on him. He never felt so small in his entire life. He realized that he _was_ the one who had told Agron to leave; but in his defense, he had never thought Agron would actually listen to him. He figure Agron would leave for the night and then he’d be back the next day like nothing had happened; or he’d be pleading his case with even more gusto than he had that night. He hadn’t thought that Agron would take his words so much to heart that he’d just avoid him all together.

“Fuck.”

**Month Seven:**

Sitting in the coffee shop, pecking away on his laptop, Nasir idly sipped his chai tea. He’d been sitting at that particular table for the past four hours, just getting his notes and thoughts together on his newest article for the magazine. He’d been avoiding Naevia and Mira, so he’d also been avoiding his apartment; seeing as the girls each had a key for emergencies, and Nasir was pretty sure that not answering their calls and texts would warrant a not-so-surprise visit.

Nasir was just realizing that his cup was empty when someone sat down across from him at the table. Nasir’s body jumped on its own accord as he was startled by the sudden appearance of Spartacus. The man across from his laughed softly, holding up his hands in a gesture that said _sorry, didn’t mean to scare you_. Nasir let out the breath he’d sucked into his lungs as he gasped, lifting a hand to press against his pounding heart.

“Spartacus,” he mumbled, “you scared the bejesus out of me.”

“Apologies,” Spartacus chuckled, lifting his cup and taking a sip of his coffee. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I just noticed you sitting here and figured I would say hello.”

“Oh…” Nasir trailed off, staring for a moment before he offered a tight lipped smile, “hello.”

“Hello,” Spartacus smiled slowly at him. Nasir got the feeling that Spartacus was here for more than a ‘hello’.

“Uh… Why’re you looking at me like that?”

“I noticed you weren’t at the Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of us,” Spartacus ignored his question, naturally.

“Oh, yeah, I was…busy.” Nasir nodded a bit, glancing down in to his large coffee mug a little solemnly. It was empty, after all. “Speaking of busy, I’ve got work to do, and I need more tea.”

He stood up before Spartacus could get a word in edgewise. He made his way over to the counter, standing in the small line with his cup so that he could get a refill. He glanced briefly over at his table, seeing that Spartacus was simply waiting for him to return. Shit. This was the universe punishing him for thinking Spartacus an ass as first impression, wasn’t it?

Nasir took his time getting his Chai Tea, making it a latte this time. Once he paid for it, he sucked in a breath and walked over to the table again. “You’re still here,” he muttered, getting a nod from Spartacus. Nasir set his cup down and looked ruefully at his half typed article. He wouldn’t get much work done with Spartacus looming, so he saved it and closed the laptop.

“What can I help you with, then?” Nasir asked, pulling his large mug towards him and wrapping his small, thin fingers around its warmth.

“I just wanted to talk,” Spartacus told him, calmly sipping his coffee as he looked over at Nasir.

“About what?”

“How you’ve been,” Spartacus replied, shrugging lightly, “how you’re doing. What’s been going on.”

“Oh. I’ve been fine. I am fine, and nothing’s been going on.” Nasir answered in one breath, shrugging in return. If he seemed as if he was brushing Spartacus off, well, that wouldn’t be a wrong assumption. The man intimidated Nasir more than he would like to admit. He was successful, smart, charming, and he clearly knew more than he let on; it made Nasir think that he was a lot smaller than he would like to admit.

“Nasir,” Spartacus frowned a bit, rubbing his finger over the rim of his coffee cup. “Agron told me what happened. Both with Chris, and your reaction to it.”

Nasir frowned deeply, wishing like hell that the floor would open up and swallow him whole. “And you think I handled it like a child, right? You think that I’m the hugest ass in the world, don’t you?”

“Not at all,” Spartacus shook his head. He leaned back in his chair, smoothly crossing his legs. “I think, perhaps, the situation got a bit out of hand, yes, but I also understand where you were coming from; and I hardly believe it was simply that you thought Agron beating Chris up was wrong. Which it was, on many levels, and Agron has accepted such things.”

“Then why is he still avoiding me?”

“Perhaps he simply wishes for you to admit that his reasons for doing what he did weren’t all that bad.” Spartacus replied.

“They weren’t bad…” Nasir lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I know why he did what he did, okay? He said it was to make sure that Chris didn’t come back to my room and cause more trouble-“

“No,” Spartacus held up a hand, shaking his head, “Agron did what he did because he cares about you.”

Nasir stared at him, his jaw a bit slack. After a moment of being completely dumbfounded, Nasir shook his head, snapping his mouth shut with a little _pop_ , “If he cares so much, then why wont he talk to me? Hmm? Because I saw him on Thanksgiving, and he shut me down stone cold.”

“Agron is giving you space, Nasir. He’s giving you time to get your own thoughts together so that you can realize that he’s been there for you throughout this entire ordeal. He’s giving you time to realize that he is _still_ here for you despite lacking close proximity to you.”

“I don’t-“

“Nasir,” Spartacus sighed, actually looking at bit flustered, “Agron wants you to realize that you feel the same way about him as he does you. He cares- on a deeper level than mere friendship.”

Nasir was, once again, left dumbfounded. His jaw loosened up and parted his lips once again. He knew his eyes were probably wide as well. “What… like… he _likes_ me?”

“Mira and Naevia spoke so highly of your intellect, too.” Spartacus frowned in to his coffee as he took a sip. “Yes, Nasir, Agron likes you. He has since the moment he saw you. Did you miss the memo of how much he hated hospitals, and yet stayed with you throughout your treatment? Did you miss how his brother blurted out how he thought you were dating?”

“You know about that?”

“Yes, I know about that. Agron is one of my closest friends, Nasir. He is like a brother to me, and he tells me things when he seeks advice.” Spartacus rubbed a hand over his hair and then dropped it to his lap. “Do you honestly think that he would use his skills on Chris if he wasn’t harboring strong feelings for you?”

“I dunno,” Nasir shrugged, genuinely out of his wit here, “Crixus said-“

“Do not be fooled by Crixus.” Spartacus told him, shaking his head, “the man may act as if he doesn’t particularly care for Agron, but it is known by all of his closest friends that he would probably kill someone for him. They aren’t outwardly affectionate- unless you call bickering and cursing each other affection- but they know where their loyalties lie.”

“Then why did Crixus warn me?” Nasir asked, confused.

“Crixus has been with Naevia for years, Nasir. She tells him everything.” Spartacus leaned forward, his elbows resting against the table, “and if Naevia and Mira had this idea that you and Agron were going to hit it off, as I’m sure they did, then Crixus might have simply been warning you that that was about to happen.”

“But-“

Spartacus shook his head faintly, “I have to get back to the arena,” he muttered, finishing off his coffee and looking at Nasir with a fond smile. “Think about what I have said. I know that Christmas is over, but seeing as how everyone had plans on the actual day, we made it for where it’s mixed with New Years. Christmas-slash-New Years dinner is at Duro’s at five thirty on New Year ’s Eve. I expect you to be there this time. Everyone missed you at Thanksgiving.” 

Nasir was left sitting with a completely dumbstruck expression as Spartacus stood, clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder, and left the coffee shop. Nasir, too late, turned his eyes to look at the door, seeing Spartacus heading to his car just outside.

What the hell had just happened?

+++

The one good thing about last minute shopping for this dinner was that Nasir got the awesome post-Christmas sales. He’d been spending most of the day shopping through town to gather gifts for all of his friends. He had struggled a bit with what to get everyone, but eventually he’d figured it out. Spartacus had said that he expected Nasir to be there, so he might as well have brought gifts. It may or may not have been an apology for, once again, being a twat.

The gift he struggled with the most was for Agron. He looked through about ten stores before he finally came across something that he thought Agron might like. At least, he hoped that Agron would like the gifts. He also hoped that gifts were actually something he was supposed to do. Spartacus hadn’t said anything about gifts, so he was just assuming that he was supposed to bring them.

Nasir spent the latter part of his day wrapping all of the gifts in simple gold paper with dark green ribbons and bows. He looked at his handy work and nodded his approval before he packed the gifts in to two large shopping bags. Once that was settled, he moved around his apartment, getting things ready before he realized the time.

Nasir showered quickly and took the time to blow dry his hair, letting it fall down to his shoulders in silky smooth waves. He dressed in a slate colored, ribbed turtle neck sweater and a pair of dark, form fitting jeans with a pair of converses to make it more casual. Once he was ready, he took one last glance at himself and headed out of the apartment with the gifts.

He remembered the way to Duro’s house from the night he’d gotten out of the hospital. He drove carefully, taking his time to get there. He would never outwardly admit it, but he did have some small issues with cars since the accident. He took extra care in order to keep himself from making some minimal mistake that could put him back in the hospital, or worse.

Pulling up to Duro’s house, Nasir spotted the variety of vehicles from his friends. He saw Agron’s Camaro, Spartacus’s environmentally friendly crossover, Crixus’s SUV, Oenomaes’s Mercedes (and he wondered briefly if he’d finally get to meet Oenomaes’s wife, Melitta), and even a jet black Ninja parked in the yard. Nasir got the sneaking suspicion that the sexy bike was actually Saxa’s instead of Gannicus’s, but he’d just have to see.

Nasir parked his car and sat there for a few moments, collecting his nerves. He probably had no reason to be nervous, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d been making an ass of himself lately, and he owed everyone in that house an apology- especially Michelle and Duro seeing as how he’d never returned for dinner and conversation. He felt bad about that the most, aside from the Agron situation. They’d been nothing but kind to him, sending him things in the hospital and all, and he’d just left when Duro slipped up and told him about Chris.

Aftering sitting in his car for a few more moments, breathing in deeply through his nose and staring at his steering wheel, Nasir finally got out of the car. He realized that he didn’t care if the others didn’t bring gifts- he had reason to apologize, and it was Christmas season and he needed to show his gratitude for all of them. They’d supported him, visited him, and took care of him while he was in the hospital. A few gifts were the least he could do for them.

Nasir carried the bags of gifts to the house, pressing the door bell. He waited patiently for someone to answer, exceptionally relieved when it was Duro who answered the door. Nasir gave him a smile and held out the bags. “These are for everyone, you can do what you want with them. Don’t worry if no one else brought presents, I just… I needed to show some gratitude for everyone being there while I was.. er.. incapacitated.”

Duro let out a small laugh and nodded, taking the bags from Nasir, “you really shouldn’t have, though. I’ll pass them out to everyone once you get a drink.” He waited until Nasir stepped in to the house before he wrapped his arms around the smaller man.

Nasir stood still for a moment before awkwardly hugging Duro back, “uh.. thanks?”

“Well, I just wanted to.” Duro laughed again, his cheeks flushed from what Nasir assumed was drinking, “you haven’t been around much and, well, I kinda thought… Well… I’ll just admit that I missed you.” He shrugged like it was nothing and turned to carry the bags towards the living room.

Nasir let out a soft chuckle, watching Duro go. He closed the door behind him before he headed in to the kitchen. He found Michelle next to a large bowl of punch. Nasir approached her with a small smile, “Hello,” he lifted a hand in a small wave.

Michelle looked up from the punch, a bright smile spreading across her face, “Nasir!” She was around the bar and engulfing him in a hug before Nasir knew what was happening.

He hugged her back, if a little late, and let out a soft laugh, “it’s good to see you, too.”

Michelle let out a laugh as she released him, a warm smile on her lips. She pushed some hair behind his ear and nodded a bit, “it’s really good to see you, Nasir. It..uh.. hasn’t entirely been the same since the last time we saw you.”

Nasir shook his head, “Don’t worry about-“

“I apologize for my husband’s lack of a filter,” she told him, her smile faltering a little bit, “when we first started dating, I thought it was cute and funny, but now it makes me want to slap the back of his head on a daily basis. He shouldn’t have said anything, it wasn’t his place. So, I’m sorry.”

“No, no,” Nasir shook his head, reaching out to take her hand, “it’s not Duro’s fault. I… Well, I handled that situation all wrong, and I’m the one who should be apologizing to you.”

“What for?”

“Not coming back around? For just leaving so suddenly? For being a dick?” Nasir suggested the few reasons off the top of his head, warranting a nice sounding laugh from Michelle.

“You haven’t got anything to apologize for. Anyone would have reacted the same way, or much worse.” She glanced towards the living room where all the other guests were, “in fact, and don’t tell him I said this, but Agron would have probably been the one to handle it the worst way possible. He might’ve run off at the mouth or even with his body. His go to defense is anger, and, well, you saw what happens when that anger comes out.”

Nasir frowned a little bit, deciding that he should change the subject, like, immediately. “I brought you a gift. It goes hand in hand with my apology; and since you didn’t take that, the gift’ll have to do.” He laughed a bit stiffly and stepped around Michelle, pouring himself a small glass of punch before he promptly exited the kitchen and walked in to the living room.

Surprisingly, Alec was the first to bound up to him in greeting. He slung his little arms around Nasir’s legs and hugged him. He tried not to think how awkward it was to have a child’s face pressed against his hips as he returned the hug before kneeling down. “Hey, buddy, I’m sorry I haven’t exactly been around.”

“It’s okay,” Alec shrugged, reaching out to touch Nasir’s hair. “Your hair is really long.”

“It is,” Nasir nodded with a small chuckle, “do you like it?”

Alec looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded, “yeah, and it’s really soft. It’s softer than moma’s hair.”

Nasir laughed, reaching out to ruffle Alec’s hair as he stood up. He was instantly glad that he did, considering Mira and Naevia engulfed him in their arms, squealing about the presents that he’d gotten them. Two necklaces: Mira’s with emeralds, Naevia’s with amber jewels. Saxa’s was the same, except with sapphire.

Nasir let out a laugh, wrapping each arm around a woman and squeezing faintly, “I’m glad you girls like your gifts. It’s an apology for being a… brat the last few months.” Meaning, the last eight months.

Naevia shook her head, placing a soft kiss on Nasir’s cheek, “Don’t worry about that. We understand what you’ve been going through. We’ve only been trying to help.” She moved her hand, brushing her thumb across Nasir’s cheek to, what Nasir suspected was, get the lipstick she’d left behind off of his skin.

“Yeah, seriously, it’s not a big deal. Besides, Crixus is a butthead most of the time anyway.” Mira added with a laugh, seeing as how she had to seriously call Crixus a _butthead_ because Alec was still standing next to them, looking up at them with an interested look.

Once the ladies stepped back, Alec reached up and took Nasir’s hand. He grinned up at the ladies, a smile that matched his father and uncle’s, before saying, “sorry, ladies, but I’m going to steal him now.”

Nasir’s eyebrows arched up as he looked from Alec to the girls. He tried not to laugh, but it was definitely hard. “I’ll find you later,” he assured them before Alec gave his arm a tug and pulled him off.

Nasir didn’t entirely know where Alec was taking him. He looked around the house as Alec led him on, seeing family pictures of all varieties hanging on the walls and set upon different furniture fixtures. His lips curved up in to another smile as he glanced at them as quickly as he could while Alec pulled him along. “Hey, buddy,” he said after a moment, “where’re you taking me?”

“I gotta show you the cool video game uncle Agwon gave me for chwistmas.” Alec told him, his tone matter of fact enough that Nasir tore his eyes away from the photos. He realized that Alec was pulling him along to his bedroom and chuckled.

“A video game, huh? That’s pretty cool of your uncle.” Nasir tried not to sound down when speaking about Agron. The kid didn’t deserve to be the one who had to deal with Nasir’s mood.

+++

Nasir spent a good hour playing the video game with Alec. He couldn’t deny that he was thoroughly enjoying himself; and the alone time (even with the kid) was a good thing for Nasir’s nerves. He was still nervous about seeing Agron, about trying to strike up conversation and apologize to Agron for completely over reacting and losing his shit on him. Alec was good company. The childish wonder the boy exhibited was enough to keep a steady smile on Nasir’s face, even as he let the kid beat him repeatedly at the game.

The two of them were pulled from their fun when Michelle yelled that dinner was ready, though. Nasir stood up, only to have Alec jump off of his bed on to Nasir’s back for a piggy back ride. Nasir was suddenly very thankful that he’d healed properly and all the way, otherwise, Alec’s actions might have had him back in the hospital again. “Dinner!” Alec wailed, right at Nasir’s ear.

Nasir let out a loud laugh and bounced Alec around on his back, getting him in a better position. “You ready?” Nasir asked, glancing over his shoulder at the adorable kid.

“Yeah! I’m _starving_!” Alec nodded vigorously, holding on tight so that he didn’t fall off.

Nasir laughed again, nodding as he shuffled his feet like he was gaining momentum to take off for a race. “And,” he drawled out, letting the word last for a few seconds, “go!” He took off out of Alec’s room, Alec’s laughter filling the air in their wake.

Nasir “galloped” through the house with Alec on his back, carrying him down the stairs and towards the kitchen. When he reached the kitchen, he skidded to a halt, listening to Alec laugh loudly as everyone in the room turned to look at them.

“Sorry,” he muttered, unable to stop a smile from curving his lips. He bent down, letting Alec slide to the floor. The child immediately ran over to his uncle.

“Uncle Agwon! Nasir played my game with me! And I kept winning!” He exclaimed loudly, getting a laugh from his uncle. “He’s so cool! Is he gonna stay around more? Can I keep playing with him?”

Nasir felt his chest tighten at Alec’s words, but he wouldn’t impose himself on the conversation, saying that he wished like hell that Agron would agree to Alec’s terms. He wanted to stay around. He wanted to keep playing with Alec. He found himself really enjoying the kid’s company; he enjoyed Agron’s family’s company in general, actually.

Agron just gave Alec a tight nod, placing a hand on his head as he turned him towards the food and helped him fix a plate. Nasir’s chest tightened again when Agron didn’t answer his nephew. He worried his bottom lip furiously until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced back to see Duro standing next to him, a warm smile on his face.

“Don’t worry about it. Everything’ll be fine.” Duro told him, squeezing his shoulder lightly, “I promise.”

+++

Dinner went by with only a few small hitches. Alec had spilled his juice all over the table cloth. Saxa had “accidentally” flung some of her mashed potatoes in to Agron’s face. Crixus had made a comment that only caused Agron’s temper to flare to the point where a food fight almost ensued.

Despite the dramatics of dinner, Nasir found himself in conversation with Oenomaes’s wife, Melitta. She was a soft spoken woman with warm eyes and an obviously good heart. He found himself thoroughly enjoying her company as well. She had opinions, strong ones, but she wasn’t one to force them on to anyone too much. She and Nasir talked about work, and the boys with their fighting. She’d mentioned how she was a little upset that Oenomaes hadn’t won the tournament, but she’d also mentioned that Gannicus was her husband’s best friend. Therefore, she was also proud that Gannicus had taken the title.

Once they were all finished eating, Nasir helped Michelle and Duro clear the table while everyone else meandered in to the other room to get drinks and relax after filling their bellies with amazing food. He wouldn’t say that he was avoiding things, per say, but he also figured a little help cleaning up wouldn’t hurt. More for his apology to Duro and his wife for leaving so abruptly and never returning. He listened to Michelle hum softly as she trashed the remains on the plates, handing the dishes over to Duro, who rinsed them and put them in the dish washer.

It was so domestic that Nasir ached a bit. He hadn’t had this sort of relationship with his family, and even the holidays that he spent with Julian weren’t like this. Julian’s family would horse around, end up in competitive games in the yard, and Nasir was left thinking perhaps he wasn’t entirely meant to be there. But this? This felt so much like home that Nasir was struck to silence as Michelle continued to hum.

He cleaned off the table, taking the dishes to the counter next to Michelle. The three of them started a pattern. Place dishes on the counter, dump the remains in the trash, rinse and place in the dish washer. Nasir hadn’t felt so content in a long while. Not since he was curled up to Agron on his hospital bed.

Once the table was cleared, Nasir stood leaning against the bar, his dark eyes focused on the way Michelle and Duro worked together. He could instantly tell that the two had synchronicity, which in turn made him think of what Saxa and Gannicus had said about him and Agron. He knew the two of them had moved in a similar fashion. Attuned to the other’s movements on such a fine level that they didn’t even realize what was happening.

Nasir suddenly wished he was back in that hospital.

+++

It was 11:45 before Nasir got the chance to pull Agron aside to talk to him. He’d spent the majority of the evening speaking to the women about various things. He’d even been the one to tuck Alec in to bed when the time came (on Alec’s insistence of course). So, finding an opening, Nasir slipped up to Agron, took his hand, and pulled him out of the French doors, in to the back yard.

Agron looked like he was about to ask Nasir what the hell he was doing, but Nasir held up a hand and sucked in a breath, “no, please, let me talk.”

Silence fell between them as Nasir tried to gather his thoughts up. He worried his bottom lip, occasionally glancing up at Agron to see that the taller man was eyeing his lips in a way that Nasir couldn’t entirely describe. It took him a few moments to gather his thoughts and finally speak.

“First of all,” Nasir started, keeping his eyes trained on his hands, “I need to apologize.”

Nasir could practically feel Agron about to interrupt, so he pushed on. He needed to say these things. He needed to get them out in the open. “I’m sorry that I reacted the way that I did. I’m sorry that I didn’t realize at the time that you did what you did to protect me. Because you cared.” He sucked in a short breath and chanced a glance at Agron. He was watching Nasir with a masked expression. Nasir was starting to hate that expression.

“I didn’t realize that you felt the way that you did.” Nasir told him, lifting his shoulders faintly, “or maybe I did and it just freaked me out more. I didn’t…. I couldn’t believe that you felt that way about me because I wasn’t supposed to feel that way about you. I was supposed to be grieving the loss of my best friend, my boyfriend, and I was constantly warring with myself about the guilt and the feelings that I had for you.”

“Nasir-“

“Please let me talk, Agron, I have to say these things.”

“O..okay.”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” Nasir started again, frowning down at his hands as he kept his eyes off of Agron. “I didn’t mean to let myself fall for you. It’s just… When I met you, it literally crashed in to me. It was like the fucking heavens opened up and there you were. The perfect match. Or something. I dunno, but I wasn’t supposed to feel that way.”

Nasir risked another glance at Agron before he turned and paced the patio a little bit. “I was in a relationship, and I found myself always wanting to talk to you, to see you. It wasn’t about the group of friends surrounding us, it was about seeing you. And I felt worse about that when I bailed on Julian and spent my time with you…and the group. I ditched dates and phone calls, and all sort of things to be around you. A-and then Julian was there at the club that night. He said that I never looked at him the way that I looked at you. Not anymore, anyway. And he was right. The passion in our relationship had died months before I even met you, but it died. And now he’s dead.”

Nasir turned to look at Agron, his eyebrows pulled together, “and I didn’t want to feel the way that I did. Those first few weeks in the hospital… I kept myself on the morphine pump so that I didn’t _have_ to feel, Agron. I didn’t want to feel the overbearing guilt. I didn’t want to feel the-the awe-striking passion that I had for you. I wanted you there, but I also knew that you didn’t deserve that kind of company. So I tried to get you to go. To go back to your regularly scheduled life.” Nasir let out a small chuckle, “but fuck me if you didn’t. You stayed. You kept me company even when I wasn’t the best person to be around. If I was in some shitty mood, you sat in that chair and watched bad television in silence just to be a comforting presence next to me.”

“I would do it again,” Agron muttered, and Nasir knew that he wasn’t trying to interrupt anymore, just putting his two cents in.

“And I can never thank you enough for that, and for what you’ve done. If you hadn’t been there for me, I probably would have gone completely insane in that hospital bed.” Nasir chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, trying to figure out how to continue.

“I’d been riddled with night mares, you know,” Nasir finally spoke again, his voice soft in the quiet yard, “but that first night that you wrapped yourself around me… I’d never had such a good night’s sleep. The nightmares were gone when you had your arms around me. The guilt was minimal. The pain wasn’t very strong either. It wasn’t the medicine or the doctors who healed me, Agron, it was _you_.”

Nasir turned to look at him, his eyes a little wide as he realized just how true that probably was. He hadn’t thought of it before, of course, or he might have gotten his head out of his ass a lot sooner. He stepped a bit closer to Agron and reached out to take his hand in both of his. He looked up in to bright green eyes, his eyebrows twitching together a bit.

“I am _so_ sorry for how I acted. I never should have reacted that way. I should have known. I should have seen it earlier. All the signs were there.” Nasir shook his head, squeezing Agron’s hand slightly, “I shouldn’t have told you to leave. We should have talked it out or something, and I know I was wrong, okay? I know.”

“Nasir,” Agron shook his head faintly, but Nasir interrupted him again.

“I miss you.” Nasir said, his tone strong and firm. “I miss you more than I’ve ever missed anything. And it makes it so much worse to know that you’re not actually _gone_. You’re right here, and you have been, and I can’t take missing you anymore. I can’t take not seeing or talking to you. I miss feeling your strangely overwarm presence next to my side. I just miss _you_.”

Agron was quiet for a moment before he looked down at Nasir with a furrowed brow, “and what about the guilt?”

“Forget about it.” Nasir waved one of his hands while the other grasped Agron’s tightly, “I know now that it’s not a bad thing to love you and Julian at the same time. I know I loved him, but I wasn’t _in_ love with him at the end. He was my best friend, and I’ll always love him, but you? I can’t think about not knowing what could be with you.”

The next thing that Nasir knew, Agron had stepped forward and pressed his lips to Nasirs. His free hand had moved to gently wrap around the base of Nasir’s skull, fingers tucked in to the smooth hair at the back of his head. Nasir didn’t even have time to respond before Agron pulled away just enough to look in to Nasir’s eyes.

“What was that for?”Nasir asked, his voice a breathy whisper.

“It’s New Years,” Agron whispered back, “and because I love you, too.”

+++

After they all rang in the New Year, Nasir found himself being pulled outside. This time, it was towards the cars. Agron tugged him along to his car, taking the keys from Nasir (considering he’d had several drinks). He unlocked the car and Nasir slid in to the passenger’s seat. He couldn’t tell if he was dazed from the drinks or from the several kisses that Agron had planted on his lips since the clock struck midnight.

Agron slid in to the driver’s seat, starting the car’s engine. Since Nasir was the last to arrive, his car was the easiest to get out. Agron’s was currently blocked in by Spartacus and Crixus’s vehicles. Not that Nasir really minded. “Where are we going?” He asked, his hand reaching out to grab Agron’s once Agron was driving.

“Your place,” Agron told him, entwining their fingers together.

“Why’re we leaving the party?”

“Because I want to get you alone,” Agron told him, sending him a dimpled smile. He lifted their hands, pressing his warm lips to Nasir’s knuckles. The gesture made Nasir’s stomach go crazy with butterflies. He didn’t even care that that probably sounded stupid, but it seriously happened.

When they reached Nasir’s apartment, Agron parked the car and killed the engine. The two sat in their respective seats for a moment before Nasir leaned over and brushed his lips against Agron’s, “C’mon,” he muttered, squeezing Agron’s hand before he let go and crawled out of the car.

He was met by Agron, who somehow managed to get around the car and press him up against the door by the time Nasir closed it. His hands rested on the side of Nasir’s neck, and on his hip. His lips pressed against Nasir, his tongue trailing across his lower lip for entry. Nasir parted his lips in invitation, allowing Agron to lazily explore his mouth while he pressed him up against the car.

Nasir couldn’t entirely tell you when the two had made the trip to his apartment. But soon enough, Agron was lowering him on to his bed gently. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that Agron wasn’t capable of being so gentle. He was a large man, bulky with well honed muscles. He never would have thought that something so strong could touch him in such a gentle way.

Agron’s hands slid over his sides lightly, making Nasir squirm a bit under him. His lips were still dancing with Nasir’s, their tongues teasing each other in a way that made Nasir’s jeans grow tighter and tighter by the second. He could feel that it had the same effect on Agron, judging by the impressive bulge that was rubbing against his thigh.

“Agron,”Nasir breathed out, feeling Agron’s lips trail towards his jaw. The turtle neck that he was wearing was obstructing Agron’s path, causing the larger man to grip the shirt’s hem and pull Nasir up off of the bed in order to remove it. Once the shirt was gone and Nasir’s back rested against the bed again, Agron took his sweet time savoring the newly revealed skin.

Nasir’s body was beginning to engulf in radiating warmth. Both from Agron’s lips and Agron’s body hovering over him. His hands moved on their own accord, fingers plunging in to soft hair, trailing over the back of Agron’s neck. His blunt nails scraped across the skin, warranting a low, soft groan from the man giving his collarbone extra attention with his tongue.

The sweet sound of Agron’s groan spiked a wave of pleasure in the pit of Nasir’s stomach. He absently lifted his hips up off of the bed, grinding them against Agron in a way to cause the slightest bit of friction. His pants were painfully tight against his erection, and he wanted nothing more than to remove them and feel Agron’s skin against his own.

As if sensing what Nasir wanted, Agron’s hands roamed over his bare skin, striking fire in their wake. His fingers tucked under the waist band of Nasir’s pants, teasing faintly before he moved them and unbuttoned the jeans swiftly. Nasir’s hips rolled off of the bed, allowing Agron to pull his pants down, removing them with his shoes and socks.

Nasir was left aching for the warmth of Agron’s body and lips as Agron stood at the end of the bed, his green eyes washing over Nasir’s body. He was stark naked on the bed, itching for some friction to his throbbing cock. Agron’s gaze only ignited more desire within him, making him squirm again.

“Fuck the gods,” Agron breathed out, taking the time to quickly remove his own clothes. “Godamn, you’re beautiful.” He said as he crawled back on top of Nasir, warm flesh touching warm flesh in the most delicious way.

“Did you just call me beautiful?” Nasir asked, his hands sliding up Agron’s arms, over his shoulders, and up the sides of his neck. 

“Well, yeah,” Agron nodded, pressing his lips lightly to Nasirs. “It’s not my fault that you’re beautiful.”

Nasir let out a laugh against Agron’s lips, grinning widely as he pressed another kiss to Agron’s lips. Agron chuckled as well, but the sound died off as he deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue in to Nasir’s mouth for more exploration, drawing a low, throaty moan from Nasir. He lifted his hips again, meeting Agron’s and causing both of them to let out a moan, their tongues pausing to revel in the sensations of their cocks rubbing together.

With parted lips barely touching, Agron rolled his hips fractionally against Nasir’s. Nasir’s finger’s tightened along the back of Agron’s neck, blunt nails attempting to dig in to the smooth skin. “Agron,” Nasir moaned out, his head falling deeper in to the pillow under it, “don’t tease, I’m already about to burst.”

Agron chuckled, his lips trailing over Nasir’s chin, using the angle to spread kisses down Nasir’s throat. His tongue darted out at the hollow of Nasir’s throat, tasting the dip before he moved his body. He slid down, his abs causing just the right amount of friction on Nasir’s cock as Agron let his lips flow down Nasir’s body. Nasir let out a small cry of pleasure when Agron’s fingers wrapped around his cock, his thumb swiping across the slit before spreading the precum along Nasir’s shaft.

Nasir’s body arched at the feeling of Agron’s hand beginning to pump his cock. His fingers knotted in the bed sheets, his knuckles tightening from the tension. Scattered moans erupted from his throat as he tossed his head back and closed his eyes at the sheer pleasure of what Agron was doing. His mind couldn’t even fathom that there was more to come. Only when he felt the warm of spit slickened fingers massage his entrance did he realize that there was definitely more to come.

Nasir’s back arched off of the bed even more, pushing himself against Agron’s fingers. It had been a while since he’d done this, so he knew that there would be a small amount of burning pain, but he was so far gone in bliss that he didn’t even think about that. He let out another cry of pleasure as he felt Agron’s lips enclose around the head of his cock at the same moment that Agron slid a finger inside of him.

“Oh, fuck,” Nasir breathed out, trying desperately not to writhe beneath Agron, trying not to blow at the simplest of things.

He felt Agron’s finger slid in and out of him, massaging the muscles as he lowered his head, sucking Nasir down until his nose pressed against the soft curls at the base of his cock. As Agron moaned around him, the vibrations radiated through his body; Nasir tightened his fists against the sheets, trying so hard to keep himself from ejaculating so soon (but seriously, someone as strikingly hot as Agron has you so deep in to their throat; how is that not the opportune time for premature ejaculation?).

Before he knew it, Nasir was rocking his hips shamelessly. Upward movements pushed his cock further in to Agron’s mouth. Downward movements pushed Agron’s fingers deeper inside of him. It was definitely a win/win situation in his book. However, too much longer and Nasir would be spent without ever touching Agron’s cock.

“Agron, stop,” Nasir breathed out, his fingers tangling in Agron’s hair and pulling his head up, “I don’t want to cum yet.” He was panting, and he couldn’t care less about it. His body was on fire, and all he really wanted was to feel Agron inside of him.

Agron gave him a crooked smile, scissoring his fingers skillfully as he moved up Nasir’s body and pressed a seering kiss to his lips. Nasir continued to grind against Agron’s fingers, wanting so desperately to feel Agron deep inside of him. When he voiced such opinions, Agron chuckled again, removing his fingers and allowing Nasir to roll faintly and reach for the condoms and lube in his bedside table.

He took one of the foil packets and the tube of lube. Dropping the packet on to his stomach, Nasir popped the top of the bottle and squirted a generous amount of lube on to his hand. His eyes met Agron’s as he reached between the teasing Agron’s cock before he reached further and slathered the lubricant around and inside of himself. 

He felt as well as heard Agron’s moan at the sight of what Nasir was doing. Agron snatched the foil packet from Nasir’s stomach, ripping it open with his teeth. He pulled the condom out and rolled it down his erection before he moved again. He grasped Nasir’s wrist lightly, muttering a small “Stop that” before he lined himself up at Nasir’s entrance.

He looked down in to Nasir’s eyes, green orbs blazing with heated desire, causing Nasir’s breath to hitch in his throat. Nasir nodded faintly, sliding his hand around the back of Agron’s neck and pulling him down for another kiss. Nasir moaned in to the kiss as Agron slowly, gently pushed in to him until he was fully sheathed inside of Nasir.

Agron lazily, lovingly kissed Nasir as he remained still, allowing Nasir’s body to grow accustomed to his cock inside of him. He remained still until Nasir moved his legs, wrapping them around Agron’s hips and tightening them, pulling Agron even deeper inside of him, if that were possible. As he kissed Nasir, tasted him, adored him, Agron moved his hips the slightest bit, rolling them down in to Nasir. This brought a throaty moan from Nasir as his fingers tightened along the back of Agron’s neck.

“Move,” Nasir panted, “please, Agron, move.”

Agron pressed his lips chastely to Nasir’s before he rested their foreheads together. He shifted a bit, getting a better hold of his position before he slowly began to pull out of Nasir. When only the head of his cock remained, Agron thrust his hips forward again, still using a slow and gentle pace. Nasir wasn’t even bothered by the slowness as he felt every part of Agron that touched him. He even felt the sheer emotion in the room. The love, the adoration, everything.

Agron wasn’t simply fucking him. No, Agron was making love to him. Nasir couldn’t remember the last time someone had made love to him like this. The weight of that knowledge nearly had Nasir coming undone underneath Agron. His hands slid over Agron’s slick, sweat glistened skin. He angled his head up, pressing his lips to Agron’s lightly, “Gods, I fucking love you.”

Agron smiled against his lips, angling his hips just the right amount so that his cock pushed against Nasir’s prostate. “I fucking love you, too,” Agron murmured, picking up his pace.

Despite the slow pace, the lack of plowing in to him, it didn’t take Nasir long to feel the pressure building up. He might have chocked it up as lack of sex for a while, but he could also chock it up for _who_ he was currently having sex with. Agron drove him completely crazy; and by the faint trembling of Agron’s body, Nasir got the feeling that Agron felt the exact same way.

Agron continued to move against him, the only thing causing friction to his cock was the occasional brush of Agron’s stomach against it. When Nasir ended up crying out as his climax exploded through him, he wasn’t the least bit surprised that Agron had managed to make him cum without even stroking his cock. Hell, Agron had made him cum untouched just by a wet dream. 

Agron soon followed him in climax, the tightening of Nasir’s muscles around him, the convulsing only speeding up the process for him. His body shuddered as he let out a loud moan against Nasir’s clavicle before he slowly pulled out of Nasir, his body collapsing on the bed beside the smaller man.

Nasir reached between them, carefully pulling off the condom and tying it. He dropped it on the floor beside the bed, deciding he would trash it later. Right now, he just wanted to remain by Agron’s side. He shimmied a little bit, drawing closer to Agron and pressing his lips lightly against his. The two laughed against each other’s mouths at the feeling of complete post-coital bliss surging through them. Lips still lazily pressing together in soft kisses, Agron’s hand moved, his finger tip trailing down Nasir’s side, tracing his lines from his ribs to subtle curve of his thigh.

Needless to say, the New Year started with a bang.

 

Fin!


End file.
